The obituaries into former union leader and Labour shadow minister Jack Dromey who died suddenly last week make little reference to one of his most longstanding achievements, the abolition of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) for council services.

CCT had been introduced by the Conservatives in 1980 and extended across both blue collar and white collar council services. In the mid-1990s as Labour looked set to win the next general election Jack Dromey was one of a small group of union leaders, politicians and private sector directors who grappled with how to ensure councils could continue to provide efficient and well-managed services without the threat of enforced privatisation.