Not sure about UK but here in Oz there is a strong push for more privitisation of many services used by the public, health and education come to mind.
From the early days of gov all over the globe candidates have sought new ways to win votes. As a result they have moved away from the main basis of government, defence of the country, raising taxes to pay for this and writing the rules under which the country will operate. So we now have public housing, schools, health etc. there is nothing wrong with that providing the gov put the correct amount of tax payers money into it. However over time govs have lost the plot, some never read the script, and find money for things that are not relavant to the needs of the every day person. They exploit the trough filled with tax payers money and wonder why they are not popular. Add to this the sometimes outrageous wage claims of some unions and industries and you end up with a situation where companied can no longer make a profit. Factories close and they move off shore to countries where wages are lower. Until such times as there is a level playing field with wages and conditions the situation will not change.