New Labour, equity and public services: a Rawlsian perspective

The UK government has repeatedly stressed its commitment to equity in public services. It is difficult to test this commitment in many policy arenas, but it can be achieved more readily in services where a balance has to be struck between state and individual financing and provision. This article uses the example of long-term care for older people to illustrate the arguments. A modified form of Rawls' Difference Principle is employed to characterise the positions of the government and its critics in long-term care and in other policies.