Traditionally, centre Left parties have seen the public sector as a means to reform society and the economy. Conservative parties have focused their reform agenda on the public sector itself. The conservative push for smaller government has been based on the belief that smaller government means lower taxes and that the private sector can deliver services more efficiently than the public sector and so should replace it wherever possible. However, in recent times the burgeoning middle classes have demanded that a core group of services be delivered by the public sector and that the quality of those services be constantly…