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As Community Care's survey results show this week, disillusionment with New Labour is rife in social care. The Iraq war is definitely a factor in this, but a perceived lack of actions to match some fine words on social policy - and particularly the stigmatisation and harsh treatment of refugees, and threats to the civil liberties of people with mental health problems - are also eating into what has traditionally been a safe Labour vote.

For many, important though it is to protest against the Iraq war itself, and against the process leading to it, making that protest at the ballot box is fraught with difficulty. For a start, the main opposition party also supported the war. Second, a vote for the Liberal Democrats, who didn't, will in many constituencies benefit the Conservatives, as will abstention.


And let's get one thing out of the way from the start: in every respect relevant to social care, a return to Conservative government would signal disaster. More young offenders in prison and quotas for asylum seekers are only two of the unthinkable consequences. New Labour's vision of social inclusion is limited, and excludes many of those who are most vulnerable - an exclusion often compounded by the rhetoric of ministers chasing headlines. But the Conservatives were to a considerable extent the architects of the exclusion the current government has sought, at least partially, to overcome.

So is Labour's record in government since 1997 as poor as many in social care, according to our survey, believe? It may seem like special pleading, but the reality - even after eight years of government - is that it is too early to judge the impact of some policies. Many children have been lifted out of poverty, but not enough.

The visions contained in Every Child Matters and Independence, Well-being and Choice, despite their huge promise, are also long term. Educational standards have improved but need to improve more. The children's commissioner for England is not even in post yet.

It is also still unclear whether the Labour government is committed to the future of social care as a distinct discipline with distinct skills and its own values and knowledge base. The pillars of the profession, created by New Labour with much fanfare - the General Social Care Council, Commission for Social Care Inspection and Social Care Institute for Excellence - now face an uncertain future. We don't yet know whether the CSCI will be able to champion social care within two merged inspectorates for children and adults. The GSCC is pressing on with its gargantuan registration task, but if its merger was announced by the next Labour government, few would be surprised. The future of Scie will feel safer when it has better demonstrated its impact.


What is clear by now, however, is that New Labour will never be a champion of asylum seekers, young people whose behaviour is disruptive or criminal - for whatever reason, or people with severe mental health problems.

For those in constituencies where the Liberal Democrats are Labour's main challengers, our survey suggests many in social care will vote Lib Dem, given the importance placed on free personal care for older people. They should, ignoring Labour's scaremongering about tactical voting. The reduced government majority, if the Lib Dems are the gainers, would be a salutary warning to ministers and - even more importantly - a sign that the country's politics can't be shifted even further to the right.

For the rest, the majority, will "wait and see" and "things can only get worse under the Tories" inspire a return to the Labour fold?
The best we can say is: it will have to do. The Tories must not win. Nothing more inspiring is available, so pragmatism must have its day.