The three moments of new labour's health policy discourse

This article examines the three 'moments' of health policy discourse under New Labour. It contends that, since 1997, there have been two significant changes: the first from an initially very Fabian rhetoric to one based instead around performance measurement and investment, and the second adding a new version 'internal market', based around the application of the discourse of consumerism in the NHS, to the performance discourse of the first change. These shifts in the language of policy are matched by changes in its underpinning assumptions, and the frenetic nature of their introduction appears to lead to the conclusion that New Labour are resorting to a 'garbage can' approach to policy making. © The Policy Press, 2004.