British Political History Since 1900 BPG - New Labour
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Full Revision Notes - New Labour - British Politics and Government Since 1900 BPG -- Oxford PPE
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British Political History Since 1900 BPG - New Labour
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University Of Oxford
Full revision notes on New Labour, covers most of the reading list - 40 pages.
Includes sections on: The elections; Labour reforms whilst out of office; New Labour as ideology - defining the Third Way, Views of Labour history, What was new?, Changing electorate; Overview of all terms; Assessments...
New labour - british political history since 1900 bpg
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history
oxford
british history
british political history
bpg
labour party
labour
blair
brown
new labour
oxford university
british political history since 1900
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British Political History Since 1900 BPG - New Labour
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BPG FINALS 2020 – New Labour
, New Labour, 1997-2010
Questions:
1. Why did Labour win the 1997 election after 18 years out of office? Did it have any social
movement behind it?
2. In what ways was New Labour distinctive from ‘old’ Labour? Did it dispense with ideology or
change ideology? Did it remain distinctively ‘new’ throughout its time in office, or had it run its
course by 2010? What lessons should Labour learn from this period?
3. Why was New Labour so cautious despite its landslide election victories?
4. In whose interests did New Labour govern? Was it successful? Does it have a legacy?
5. Was New Labour a project or little more than a set of disconnected ideas?
6. What were the causes and consequences of the Blair-Brown rivalry (the ‘TBGBs’)? Did it help or
hinder New Labour?
7. Despite being the main architect of New Labour, was Blair also responsible for its decline?
Elections 1997-2010:
• 1997 election:
o Blair’s Labour won a landslide 418 seats, the most seats the Party has ever held.
o Huge Conservative-Labour swing of 10.2% on a national turnout of 71% (the last
national vote where turnout exceeded 70% until the 2016 EU Referendum).
• 2001 election:
o Labour re-elected with another landslide majority (dubbed the ‘quiet landslide’),
suffering a net loss of only 5 seats.
o N.B. the trade unions financed 2/3 of Labour’s 2001 campaign, despite New Labour
refusing to overturn any of the Thatcherite anti-union legislation.
• 2005 election:
o Labour won its third consecutive victory with only a 35.2% share of the popular vote,
but its majority was now only 66.
o In June 2007, pursuant to the alleged Blair-Brown Deal of 1994 (following the
unexpected death of John Smith), Blair resigned and was replaced by Brown as Labour
Leader and PM.
• 2010 election:
o Produced a hung parliament (only the second since WW2, the other being February
1974), despite the Conservatives gaining a higher share of the vote than Labour had
done in 2005. The Conservatives formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, which
was the first coalition in history to eventuate directly from the outcome of an election.
Labour’s Reforms Whilst Out of Office:
• Under Kinnock (1983-92):
o Abandoned extreme left-wing policies, e.g. unilateral nuclear disarmament, income
controls, withdrawal from Europe, and more nationalisations (Kinnock declared in 1987
that renationalising privatised industries was no longer a priority).
o Rooted out the Trotskyist ‘Militant Tendency’ entryists – Kinnock attacked them in his
speech at the 1985 Party Conference and, following the 1987 defeat, the NEC expelled
their activists and the two MPs who supported them.
o Re-branding – appointed Peter Mandelson as Labour’s Director of Communications
(effectively ‘spin doctor’), replaced the red flag (symbolized communism / revolution)
with the red rose as the Party’s logo, and changed the colour of its campaign material
from red to grey.
, o Internal Party reforms – stronger Leader, central control of local associations, weaker
NEC, and weaker trade unions – ‘one member, one vote’ system 1993
o Had some success – but very modest, only a 3% increase in share of vote 1987 (30.8%)
• Under Smith (1992-94):
o Popularity rose following Black Wednesday
o Smith felt little need to make further changes in Labour’s platform
o At the 1993 Party Conference, Smith narrowly won the vote to introduce ‘One Member
One Vote’ (OMOV) for parliamentary selections, thus removing the union bloc vote.
o N.B. Rawnsley argues that Blair’s biggest mistake was not to insist on a contest against
Brown (when Smith died) – the deal he made meant that Brown had a sense of
entitlement over when Blair should step down, gave Brown too much control over
domestic policy (though admittedly Blair was more interested in foreign affairs) and led
to deep resentment / arguments.
• Under Blair (1994-2007):
o Appointed Peter Mandelson as Labour’s election campaign director for 1997, and
Alastair Campbell as Press Secretary 1997-2000 (later Director of Communications and
Strategy 2000-03) – Campbell was permitted to give orders to civil servants, who had
previously taken instructions only from ministers.
o In his first speech to Party Conference as Leader, he called for the constitution’s Clause
IV commitment to socialism to be updated, which it was in April 1995 (this is seen as the
defining moment when ‘old’ Labour became New Labour):
▪ The original Clause IV (1918) called for “common ownership of the means of
production, distribution and exchange”.
▪ Gaitskell attempted to amend Clause IV in 1959, but he was defeated; and it
was then agreed, symbolically, to include it on Party membership cards.
▪ The new Clause IV (1995): Labour aims to create “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.”
▪ Heath et al: Blair objected to Clause IV on the grounds that it confused means
with ends + it was outdated (Tory’s could misrepresent it)
o Realistically, Labour should have won in 1992, but they ended up receiving a smaller
share of the vote than they had done in 1979. This led to great introspection within the
Party, and Blair realised that the issues were to do with leadership, trust, and
competence (especially economic competence) – the policies were desired, but people
did not believe they were the policies they would get. New Labour was an attempt to
address this:
▪ The fight over Clause IV was purely symbolic, as the 1992 manifesto had
effectively abandoned its principles anyway – Blair wanted the public to see
that he was in control, and that Labour was accepting that no socialist economic
system could ever replace capitalism.
• However Heath et al: polls – 59% of electorate to Labour’s right in
1992, 58% in 1994, and then 40% by 1997 – closer to median voter –
repeal of Clause IV made a more substantial change after 1994
▪ Blair had his modernising manifesto ‘New Labour, New Life for Britain’
approved by the 1996 Conference – he was not constitutionally bound to do so,
but wanted the Party to feel invested in the manifesto (image / style as
important as substance).
▪ Gordon Brown pledged to match Conservative spending commitments for two
years to demonstrate Labour’s economic competence (even though the image
of Conservative competence had been greatly damaged by ‘Black Wednesday’
when Britain dropped out of the ERM in 1992).
,
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