What are they key differences between "old" and "new" Labour?

The first 200 words of this essay...

What are they key differences between "old" and "new" Labour?

Tony Blair became leader of the Labour party in 1994 with a message of modernisation, this was largely in response to the success Thatcher had during her period as Prime Minister. Thatcher had spent so long in power Labour realised that if they were ever going to get back into power then they were going to have to reinvent the party to make it electable. Labour had given up on trying to create a Socialist society and instead started to look for the best way to accommodate capitalism. "To the new Labour modernizers, the economic debate has centred on what model of capitalism is best for Britain; any idea of counterbalancing, let alone overthrowing, capitalism has been decisively rejected"1.

One of the most symbolic features of the new Labour party was that Tony Blair dropped clause four of the Labour party constitution, the clause was written on every membership card from 1918 to 1995 and it committed the party to Socialism. "The rewriting of clause four was thus a public break with Old Labour and the past"2. Clause four committed the Labour party, among other things, to