Can we trust the 2020 public services trust?

2020 public services trust, a new cross-party, self styled 'think tank' has been launched ahead of the political conference season. Public service trade unions are conspicuously absent from the trustees but not the 'business leaders' (see below) and consulting firms who have profited handsomely from 30 years of privatisation.

http://www.2020publicservicestrust.org/ The so called trust and its references to the left 'rethinking assumptions about fairness' in the delivery of public services bears the hallmark of the public services industrial complex.

Board members include:

Ben Lucas - until recently a partner of LLM, the lobbying firm, and a keyplayer in corporate-funded New Local Government Network

Irene Lucas - Chief Exec of South Tyneside Council has just signed a £184m contract to outsource back office functions to BT.http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39286261,00.htm

Tim Kelsey - founder of Dr Fosters, whose deal with the Department of Healthwas criticised as uncompetitive by the Public Accounts Committee http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmpubacc/368/368.pdf

Nick Bosanquet - very right-wing economist who favours spending cuts and more privatisation http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2008/12/public-and-priv.html

Trustees include:

Margot James (Tory vice chair)
Merrick Cockell (Tory council leader)
Richard Best (Hannover Housing Association)
Robert Gavron (businessman and – I think – ippr funder)
Gerry Stoker (NLGN)
Alastair Dick (Director of Strategy at public services industry giant Serco)