I've just confirmed this with the wife,
When we moved from London back to the west country 1999/2000
She started a new senior management job in a state primary.
We could go out for a pint and live music most evenings.

A couple of years later there was excitement that cash had been found to equip all school staff
with brand new laptops.
Wow what a great gift...!!!
Then reality dawned.. workload gradually increased as it became an expectation
that she would need to spend time at home using the laptop to catch up
on all the newly introduced beaurocratic pupil evaluations, etc..
Year by year this demand on her home time significantly increased..
Soon enough every week day evening was consumed by an hour or two,
or more of ever demanding homework on the laptop..

The tory/Lib pact was still not to happen for more than a few years..
This all happened and became accepted work practise under Blair.
The tories only capitalised on and set in stone what Blair had brought in so sneakily..

Now her homelife consists almost entirely of school related 'extra' work...
..and staff know they have to like it or lump it or face threat
of 'reapraisal' of their ability to do the job...
It's no secret older more expensive salaried employees are under constant scrutiny
for who can be replaced...

Blair's New Labour Govt started that ball rolling...
Frank Field's vision of a winning Labour Party would in all probability be an even worse nightmare...