New Labour's re-disorganization

Abstract Beginning with the example of the National Health Service, this article analyses the phenomenon of very rapid, repeated re-structuring in UK public services. It asks, first, how far the unceasing reorganizations in healthcare are a unique case; second, how such serial changes can be explained; and, third, what consequences ensue. From a review of the evidence, it concludes that, while the NHS case is particularly acute, the phenomenon of repetitive reorganizations has been widespread in the UK public sector. It is argued that there is a degree of ‘British exceptionalism’ displayed here, in terms of the relatively unfettered ability of one party executives in a ‘law-lite’ majoritarian system to implement organizational change. Furthermore, the existence of a growing community of managerially minded professionals encourages and channels the political desire for rapid ‘action’.