Health and education are the main areas where politicians see choice as the best way of improving services.衛生和教育是主要的地方政客見選擇的最佳方法，改善服務。 Choosing where and what treatment to have and which school to send your children to are policies which both the Labour and Conservative parties are pursuing.選擇在哪裡和什麼待遇有哪些學校要發送您的孩子是政策，勞資雙方和保守政黨都追求的。 This year’s Darzi review made patients’ rights the focus of change, proposing that patients’ views on the quality of care should have an impact on future funding, with bonuses for those GPs and hospitals providing the best services.今年的darzi檢討病人權益的焦點變化，建議病人的意見的護理質量應該有一個影響，對未來的資金，獎金為那些全球定位系統和醫院，提供最佳的服務。 Furthermore, the results of patient satisfaction should be published creating a form of NHS league table allowing patients to choose at which GP or hospital they wish to receive their treatment.此外，結果病人滿意度應公佈創造一種形式的國民保健服務聯盟表，讓病人選擇在哪個家庭醫生或醫院，他們希望得到他們的治療。

Parents are continually told that by being able to choose which school to send their children to they are getting a better deal from state education.家長正在不斷說，由於能夠選擇哪個學校把他們的子女送到他們獲得更好的處理由國家教委。 Government ministers eulogise choice as the best way to match a child’s educational needs to the school that is best placed to cater for them.政府部長eulogise選擇的最佳方式，以配合兒童的教育需要向學校，是最理想的，以應付他們。

Choice as prescribed by this government, however, leads to centralisation, destruction of communities, privatisation and the marginalisation of the poorest from the process.選擇由這個政府，但是，導致集中，破壞社區，私營化和邊緣化最窮的從進程。 Their legacy of choice will be less choice.他們遺留的選擇將是較少的選擇。

Polyclinics are a perfect example of this.分科是一個完美的例子。 Patients are told that these super-surgeries will lead to more choice but one key choice will be removed: the choice to go to your community hospital or GP.病人說，這些超的手術將導致更多的選擇，但一個關鍵的選擇將被刪除：選擇到您的社區醫院或GP的。 Elderly patients, who frequently need to seek medical advice, will see their relationships with their doctor destroyed and will be forced to travel impractical distances.年老的病人，誰經常需要請教醫生，會看到他們的關係與他們的醫生，摧毀和將被迫旅行是不切實際的距離。

NHS league tables, while appearing to increase patient choice, are in reality just another way of imposing more targets. 國民保健服務排名表，而出現，以增加病人的選擇，是在現實中只是另一種方式施加更多的目標。 Moreover, if patients do utilize them to make decisions about which hospital to go to they will find that choice is removed.此外，如果病人不利用他們作出的決定，關於醫院去，他們就會發現，選擇是刪除。 A hospital which scores poorly in the table will receive less funding, therefore their results will get worse and fewer patients will choose them.一家醫院的得分很差，在該表將獲得較少的資金，因此其成果將得到更壞少的病人會選擇他們。 As this spiral continues services will have to be closed down as they will no longer be efficient and then you no longer have a choice.由於這螺旋繼續服務，將要倒閉，因為他們將不再有效率的，然後你不再有選擇。

Choices can also be confusing, stressful and in the end you can always make the wrong one.選擇，也可以造成混亂，壓力和在年底您可以隨時作出錯誤的。 When it comes to medicine my knowledge is possibly not as comprehensive as that of a qualified and experienced practitioner.當談到中醫藥據我所知，可能是不全面的，因為一個合格和有經驗的醫生。 I would, therefore, rather know that all hospitals and surgeries are clean and friendly and then allow my GP to refer me to the nearest one where I could receive the required treatment.因此，我知道，而不是所有醫院和手術的是乾淨和友好，然後讓我的家庭醫生轉介我到最接近的一那裡我可以得到必要的治療。

The government’s promise to give every parent a choice of secondary school for their child was proved a myth again this year with figures showing the number of pupils getting their first choice of school has dropped.政府的承諾，讓每位家長都選擇中學為他們的孩子被證明是一個神話，今年再次與數字顯示，學生人數，獲得他們的第一選擇，學校有下降。 As parents understandably clamour to get their children in to schools high up the league tables the idea of going to your local school is becoming a nostalgic notion, with over half of children not going to their nearest school.作為父母可以理解的叫囂讓他們的孩子在學校高了排名表的想法去您當地的學校正在成為一個懷舊的概念，與超過半數的兒童不打算在其最近的學校。 Commuting to school is detrimental to community development and the environment.通勤上學，是不利於社區發展和環境的影響。

Worse still any benefits of the current policy are going to the wealthiest.更糟的任何好處，目前的政策是要到最富有的。 A report by Bristol University found that disadvantaged families miss out in the current system and even in the same postcodes poorer families end up at the lower-performing schools.一份報告，由布里斯托大學，發現弱勢家庭成員的錯過了在現行的制度，甚至在同一個郵政編碼貧困家庭，最終在效果較差的學校。 Expanding the better performing schools may not be possible as “giving popular schools the freedom to expand does not mean they will do so.擴大效果較好的學校可能無法作為“給予受歡迎的學校可自由選擇擴展並不意味著他們能夠這樣做。 To the extent that a school’s position in the league tables depends on the attainment of its intake, schools may be unwilling to increase and potentially to dilute the quality of their student body,” said Professor Burgess.向程度，一個學校的立場，在聯賽中的表依賴於實現其攝入量，學校可能不願意增加和潛在的稀釋質量，他們的學生機構， “教授說，伯吉斯。

Whilst ‘good’ schools cream off the best pupils the rest are left with lower league table results and less people ‘choosing’ to go there.雖然『良好』學校霜起飛最好的學生，其餘則是左較低的聯賽表的結果和較少的人'選擇'去。 Some of the best teachers may leave and in worse case scenarios the school maybe closed.一些最好的老師可能會離開，並在更糟的情況，學校可能封閉。 As with hospitals the choice is then removed.作為與醫院的選擇，然後刪除。 Furthermore, expanding the best schools and shrinking or closing the rest as suggested will result in huge institutions where education suffers.此外，擴大最好的學校和萎縮或關閉，其餘的建議，將導致在龐大的機構，教育受到影響。 American researchers are leading the way in analysing the impacts of school size.美國研究人員領導的方式，分析影響學校的大小。

Craig Howley, of Ohio University, and Robert Bickel, of Marshall University, looked at whether smaller schools could reduce the negative effects of poverty on student achievement.克雷格howley ，俄亥俄大學，和羅伯特bickel ，馬歇爾大學，看是否較小的學校，可以減少負面影響，貧困對學生的成就。 They found that the correlation between poverty and low achievement was ten times stronger in larger schools than in smaller ones.他們發現，相關之間的貧窮和低成就是10倍，在規模較大的學校，比規模較小的。 “Everyone knows that there is a strong association between social class and achievement and that this association works very much to the disadvantage of economically disadvantaged students,” Bickel told Education World. “大家都知道，有一種強烈的協會之間的社會階級和成就，並認為這協會工程十分不利，經濟上處於不利地位的學生， ” bickel說，教育的世界。 “The California research, however, had the virtue of demonstrating that this disadvantage was exaggerated as school size increased.” “美國加州的研究，但是，美德，展示了這個缺點是誇大了，因為學校面積增加” 。

One in seven pupils in England are now in a secondary school with over 1,500 students and the number of pupils in schools of over 2,000 has doubled since 1997.一，在7名學生在英格蘭，現在在一所中學，超過1500年的學生和學生人數，在學校，超過2000年增加了一倍自1997年以來。 Promoting choice is driving these figures ever higher.促進選擇是駕駛這些數字越來越高。 If you thought a change of government would bring about a change of direction then, like in most areas, the differences between Labour and the Conservatives are negligible.如果你思想的改變，政府會帶來一些變化的方向，然後，像在大多數地區，之間的差異勞動和保守派是微不足道。 In a letter this week to local residents, Philip Dunne, Conservative MP for South Shropshire wrote: ‘We believe that the best way to enhance the power of patients is through choice.在一封信中本星期向當地居民，弘鄧恩，保守的國會議員南什羅普郡寫道： '我們相信，最好的方法，以提高病人的權力是通過選擇。

We will allow patients to choose, in consultation with their GP, where they get their secondary care.我們將允許病人選擇，在諮詢其家庭醫生，他們在那裡得到他們中學的照顧。 And we will ensure that money follows the patient so that hospitals and clinics and other care providers are paid according to the results they deliver for that patient.’ Once again, it seems, Labour equals Conservative and the public is left without an alternative.我們會確保錢跟病人，使醫院和診所和其他服務提供者支付，根據研究結果，他們提供為病人'再次，看來，勞工等於保守和公眾是離開一個替代的方法。

When ministers speak of choice what they really mean is installing the practice of privatised competition in the public sector.當部長們發言的選擇是什麼，他們真正的意思是，安裝的做法，私有化，競爭在公共部門。 Not even the most ardent free-market Tory would openly pursue a fully privatised health or education service; it would be electoral suicide.甚至不是最殷切的自由市場的保守黨將公開追求一個完全私有化，衛生或教育服務;便選舉自殺。 All politicians know this so instead they are doing it under the radar masked by the promise of choice.所有政治家都知道這樣的，而是他們所做的，它根據雷達所掩蓋的承諾的選擇。

Genuine, useful choice and universal empowerment are great things which should be strived for but do not confuse them with current government policy.真正的，有益的選擇和普遍的權力都是偉大的事情，應該爭取，但不要混淆他們與政府現行的政策。 Next time you get excited by the prospect of politicians offering you a choice think again as it’s not always a good thing.下一次你興奮的前景政客為您提供一個選擇再想一想，因為它的並不總是一件好事。