Is New Labour either?

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Florian T Pach

Is New Labour either?

Since 1997 a new age commenced in British politics, the age of the New Labour Party. After 18 years of shadow cabinet and four lost elections, the Labour Party is again back in power of the British politics and more impressive than ever before. The re-election of the Labour in 2001 and in particular the myth about the inner-party and political renewal caused numerous discussions and terms like ‘New (Labour)’ and ‘the Third Way’ came into the forefront.

What exactly is New Labour? Is it only an inexpressible ideology or is there more at the bottom of the term ‘the Third Way’? This and a few further questions I will be concentrated on in the course of this essay. But, above all I would like to contemplate both the political and party renewal in the course of time and the Third Way movement all over the world.

‘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.’ 

This is the Clause 4 of the Labour Party constitution, it is precisely what the Labour Party stands for. It illustrates the party members’ ideology and heart. However, is it still the case at all, that the Labours are social-democratic? In regarding the 1997-manifesto and the underlying Third Way ideology we get the best information. At first however, I would like to describe the term ‘social democratic’. Paterson and Thomas defined it as ‘a belief that social and economic reform designed to benefit the less privileged should be pursued within a framework of democracy, liberty and the parliamentary process’.

        In the 1997 manifesto Tony Blair emphasised, next to the promotion of the family in particular, the improvement of the educational situation. According to Anthony Crosland this is one of the central ideas of ‘social equality’. It is conspicuous that Blair seems to avoid the word ‘socialism’ in his manifesto. However, full employment still seems to be of particular importance, because this is why Labour is a labour party. In his article ‘The Ideology of New Labour’, Michael Freeden compares among other things the term socialism of the past with that of the present time. He describes the development as ‘movement from welfare to work’.

Work is not seen any longer as a right, but rather as a duty. The development shifts from the concept of human flourishing and well-being, the ethical end of optimising human creativity and eliminating human alienation’ to the mere ‘support services’ for those, ‘who are unable […] to provide for themselves’. Yet, the party adjusted itself to the economic, political, and social changes of new times and thus its political methods. Dahrendorf claims, that socialism is dead and no variety can be revived. Callaghan and Tunney analyse claim with regards to various umbrella terms and arrive at the conclusion that there is a kind of weakening, or better another social-democracy, but Dahrendorf’s claim is too premature. They recognised a ‘significantly deregulated economy and weakened state sector’. However, this is the direct consequence of social changes. The outcome of this includes secular trends like the end of Fordism, changes in voting trends or the shift in class structure, and modernisation. Blair does not make a secret of the fact that there is now another kind of social democracy:

‘New Labour is a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology….’

The importance is not attached any longer to the universal welfare state, but to the individual. Now the individual citizen comes upon a new relation both of rights and particularly of responsibilities. Therefore, they get new possibilities in return. The redistribution of wealth is not centred any longer, but a distribution of possibilities. The previously mentioned party modernisation can be divided up in two parts: the party and the political renewal.

 

In comparing the manifestos, one can follow at best the political reformation. It has to be clarified, when the party started to be renewed and what influential politicians and convictions were associated with former leaderships. One fact is obvious – New Labour does not exist solely due to Tony Blair.

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        The revision of Clause 4 of the Labour Party constitution represents the principle item of the political renewal. Shortly after the leadership-election Blair actuated the discussion about the clause. In April 1995 the clause, formulated in 1918, was modified on previously mentioned tenor. Blair demonstrated the break with the past and moreover his party has shown unity, by supporting him with regard to his whole reform-programme. However, Blair was not the first politician, who was driven by the controversial idea of the inner-party reformation. In 1959, after an internal discussion emerged about the future of socialism, Hugh Gaitskell had already ...

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