The Regulatory State Labour and the utilities 1997-2002

Article

An analysis of the developments in regulation of public utilities under the Labour government from a former special adviser.

Drawing on his experience as a special adviser in the DTI and DTLR between 1997 and 2002, ippr's former senior economist Dan Corry analyses developments in how the state regulates public utilities. While Labour has continued to put competition and the consumer first, it has significantly improved many of the details of the regulatory process. Above all, the Labour Government has clarified that regulation remains at heart a political process that demands the state set a clear policy framework for balancing a range of policy objectives.

Dan Corry emphasises that the key issue now facing regulation policy is how to reconcile environmental objectives with the central focus of policy on promoting competition and delivering the lowest price to the consumer.

Related items

  1. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…
  2. Scottish parliament building at Holyrood and Calton Hill, Edinburgh

    Great expectations: Rejuvenating the national debate in Scotland

    Fresh IPPR Scotland polling shows that politicians must raise their game if next year’s election is a to be serious debate about the challenges facing Scotland and potential solutions. 
  3. A Black man in a bright orange high vis jacket and hard hat stands in the middle of a road holding a sign that says 'STOP - WORKS'

    Unfinished business: Redressing inequality in British policy and Black lives

    As conversations about race and equality continue to evolve, Black History Month remains a powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and recommit to progress.