Labour's 13 years in power delivered major improvements in public services and reduced social inequality but failed to tackle the pay gap between the rich and the poor, academics have said.
Researchers found that despite the "myth that Labour spent a lot and achieved nothing" Tony Blair and Gordon Brown left the Coalition with a legacy of lower poverty and a widely improved public sector.
The London School of Economics and Political Science's study found that although spending went up by 60% under Labour, the pre-crash levels were "unexceptional" domestically and internationally and national debt levels were lower than when the party took office. Access and quality in public services improved, according to the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (Case) report.
Loading article content
Most of the extra spending went on improving services, including new hospitals, schools, 48,000 extra full-time equivalent teachers, 3500 new children's centres, and more doctors and nurses.
Overall, Labour saw results in areas including reducing rates of child and pensioner poverty, cutting hospital waiting times, improving teacher-pupil ratios and boosting neighbourhood facilities. However, wage inequalities grew at the top and poverty for working age people without children increased.
Case director John Hills said: "Labour achieved a striking narrowing of inequalities between different age groups and across the life cycle. Nevertheless, parts of its vision remained unrealised."
Comments & Moderation
We moderate all comments on Herald Scotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well and trust you then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.