New Labour

Label given to the Labour Party under Tony Blair. The adjective 'new' refers to a change of policies and self-image in the direction of a social democratic party (as opposed to the socialist and working-class 'Old' Labour Party).

In the 1990s, mainly during the leadership of Tony Blair, the Labour Party was trying to strengthen their appeal to middle-class voters and thereby shifting from the (working-class) left to the "radical centre". This included a compromise formation between neo-liberal monetarism (in Britain known as Thatcherism) and Old Labour socialism, which was called the "Third Way". This is indicated by the amendment of "Clause IV" of the party statutes. In its original version of 1918 Clause IV read:

To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.

The new version of 1994 reads as follows:

The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.

The dedication to public ownership was changed to a commitment to an economy which was capitalist in principle, but included the social redistribution of wealth. By changing its constitution, the party substituted a clearly socialist political stance with social pragmatism. The essence of these changes was a commitment to liberal markets, which were supplemented with communitarian policies, i.e. social groups and private incentives. The privatisation policies introduced by Margaret Thatcher were not reversed, but New Labour created incentives to set up projects to make the private sector invest. Under Tony Blair, New Labour made huge investments by subsidising jobs for less skilled workers. Additionally, there was a focus on public-private partnerships and incentives for private companies to invest in the public sector in exchange for profitable returns. As a consequence to the party's interventionism, there was an explosion of government activity, as more money was spent on the public sector and the creation of new government bodies, e.g. the so-called Social Exclusion Unit. Blair's approach to Law and Order is best expressed by his catchphrase "tough on crime/zero tolerance", which resulted in stricter anti-social behaviour laws. One example is the Crime and Disorder Act, which introduced the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).

Although New Labour was regarded as basically continuing Thatcher's policies, there were striking differences between their agendas. New Labour's approach to the nations of the UK was very different: Prime Minister Blair instigated a process of devolution, i.e. giving legislative power to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. A national minimum wage was also agreed on under New Labour, and the Social Charter of the Maastricht Treaty was eventually signed by Britain, which had been rejected by Thatcher's administration. In general, New Labour was much more pro-European than it used to be before its renewal.

Some of Blair's polices were very controversial in the Labour Party, which is why he is sometimes said to have had a presidential way of leading the party. In general, it can be said that New Labour broadly embraced a new form of consensus, i.e. policies that were in accordance with the ones established by the previous government, but there were also striking differences. The shortcomings of the Thatcher administration were intended to be changed and there was a much stronger focus on social policies and attitudes towards society and its communities but, overall, New Labour followed a new liberal way opened up by Thatcher.

Sources

• Kamm, Jürgen & Bernd Lenz. Großbritannien Verstehen. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2004.