There is a distinct echo as the Coalition's rushed revolution slows down. [....]
The echo comes from the recent past. Tony Blair sought to follow the same route. "At our best when at our boldest," he declared as he turned to the private sector and the markets to revive public services. He retreated too.
[....]
Instead, all political capital is spent repeatedly on bringing in the private sector to deliver public services. Earlier this year Cameron wrote a restless article, arguing, "We need a complete change... The grip of state control will be released". In the same article he added, as if it was a mere tiny qualification, that "the state will still have a crucial role to play: ensuring fair funding, ensuring fair competition, and ensuring that everyone - regardless of wealth - gets fair access".

If applied properly, he was still defining a massive role for the state, even when his revolutionary zeal was at its peak. That is the boundary these particular reformers come across. Their reforms have a role, but a limited one when an elected government has many unavoidable obligations. They can blame politics, the Treasury, the EU and other parties. In the end they must face up to the mundane truth that there are limits to their reforms and they are always forced to do so.