<title>Abstract</title> The figure of the consumer has been central to the UK New Labour government's approach to reforming public services. However, this article is critical of the narrow debate of the Government and its critics around the consumer as chooser. It aims to broaden the debate by drawing...

In this article we develop and apply three normative criteria for evaluating the equity of the spatial distribution of local government finance. These are: service needs, as indicated by the characteristics of local population; rights, as measured by contributions to national and local taxes;...

It has been argued that the British National Health Service (NHS) has moved from a hierarchical and bureaucratic organization to a market and, more recently, towards a network. The authors believe that this view is too simplistic: the three organizational forms have co-existed and continue to do...

New Labour argues that its ‘new NHS’ will achieve the traditional goal of fairness using the modern NHS means of partnership and co-operation. The authors examine the issue of reducing inequalities in health using the framework of policy, process and resource streams. While the policy stream...

The need for effective leadership in the UK public sector has been a prominent discourse in recent years. One aspect of this is a growing interest in talent management. This article examines the evolution of processes used for managing talent and developing leaders in the UK's National Health...