Gordon Brown and public management reform – a project in search of a ‘big idea’?

This article evaluates the Brown-effect ‘real’ and ‘potential’ on public services production in the UK. It is observed, rather unsurprisingly, that Gordon Brown's approach to public services reform is a logical extension of the New Labour modernisation project and represents the extension of new public management (NPM) methods articulated in the populist rhetoric of ‘choice’, ‘personalisation’ and ‘user’ engagement. It is argued, however, that while the adoption of NPM was an important phase in the modernisation of Britain's public services, it is simply unequal to the challenge of public service provision in an era of networked governance. This is because it privileges the role of technocrats, takes the politics out of public policy deliberation and its market orientation is at odds with the concept of public service. In consequence, the success of public service reform rests on the development of representative as well as technocratic networks which can meet the demands of both representative democracy and the efficient delivery of public goods. A set of recommendations are advanced for these purposes rooted in a ‘maximalist’ (‘deep democratisation’) conception of public value.