I think you are right about the Blair government. Absolutely dead right on the authoritarianism and centralisation. The Tories did some during the 80's and 90's but Blair's government was full of centralised target setting and centralised budget setting (for English local councils, clearly if you were mostly focused on Wales or Scotland a somewhat different picture.) If you compare Birmingham City Council under Joseph Chamberlain to the powers and ambition of a City-Region Mayor I think 1890's Birmingham corporation has more self-determination.
As for immigration - the best that can be said of the Blair government is that it encouraged immigration without taking on and winning the ideological fight about whether it was a good thing in itself or a net good thing when the economics were taken in to account or what. And heaven forfend that different parts of Britain or England should be able to influence UK immigration policy.
But fewer kids growing up in poverty is probably a net win.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-02-19 01:32 pm (UTC)As for immigration - the best that can be said of the Blair government is that it encouraged immigration without taking on and winning the ideological fight about whether it was a good thing in itself or a net good thing when the economics were taken in to account or what. And heaven forfend that different parts of Britain or England should be able to influence UK immigration policy.
But fewer kids growing up in poverty is probably a net win.