Instruction to Deliver

Michael Barber held positions in the Blair governments from 1997 to 2005. He was at the Department for Education and Employment until 2001 when he was appointed head of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit. Barber left government in 2005 and now works for a major global consulting firm advising governments around the world how they can improve their performance.

" 'Michael Barber provides a unique, and often witty, insight into the inner workings of the Blair government and how it sought to translate its targets for the reform of public services into real improvements. His conclusions about how to streamline the centre of government should be studied by any future Prime Minister' Peter Riddell, The Times * 'No book has revealed the mindset of the Blair administration so well. It will remain a fundamental source long after the spate of journalistic effusions on the squabbles between Blair and Brown have been forgotten. It is one of the best books written on British government for many years' Professor Vernon Bogdanor The Financial Times * 'An astonishingly good read ... full of telling vignettes' Independent on Sunday"