Thus both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain now elect their leaders by processes which include all their members having the right to vote.
- Blair and new Labour since 1994.
The third phase of reform began in 1994 with Tony Blair’s election as Labour Leader. Blair and his colleagues began to argue that the modernisation process had not gone far enough for the Party to win over enough voters to win the forcoming general election.
Tony Blair at the first Party conference after his election as leader he, made a significant attempt to establish new identity for the Labour Party he was now leading
Labour won its first overall majority in 1945. In 2001 it won a second term with an over, majority for the first time.
The development of the Labour Party
Socialism and Labour Party:
Early in history, the Labour Party abandoned any traces of revolutionary socialist ideology. From the early days, there have been ideological battles between democratic socialists and those who support social democracy. A particular serious battle was fought between these two groups after Labours election defeat in 1979. This resulted in a period of ascendancy for the democratic socialists within the Party and radical manifesto for the 1983 general election. A heavy defeat for the Party at this election, led the Party to reconsider its ideological position and by the time Tony Blair came to power in 1994, his predecessors John Smith and Neil Kinnock had marginalised the democratic socialists.
It is important to note that throughout the Labour Party’s history period of dominance by democratic socialist have short-lived and they have not resulted in socialist governments. As Milliband points, a commitment to capitalism has always been characteristic of the British constitutionalism has always been characteristics of the British Labour Party. Leach argues that the radicalism of the 1983 election manifesto was highly uncharacteristic and that the part’s ideas and policies have been influenced far more by trade unionism and radical liberalism that it has by democratic socialism.
Socialism and New Labour:
Before Tony Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in 1994, the context within which changes to Party procedure and part policy took place remained broadly within the social democratic tradition. During and after Tony Blair’s successful leadership election campaign, it became clear that he stood outside this tradition. To signify this ideological shift, Tony Blair and his supporters made increasing use of the term new Labour and one of Blair’s first acts as leader was to replace the OLD Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution with a new clause.
In 1993, the Labour Party’s object is to secure for the workers by hand or by train the fill fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of 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.
In 1998, the Labour Party believed that by the strength of their common endeavour, they achieve more that they achieved alone, so as to create for of them the means to realise their true potential and for al of them as a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many not few where the right they enjoy reflect the duties they owe.
In 1983, the Labour Party was committed to increased public spending and state ownership, unilateral nuclear disarmament and leaving the European community. All these policy positions have since been reversed, suggesting the betrayal of the part’s former socialism. In the early 1980s which is untypical, Blair leadership has much in common with that of earlier leaders like Callaghan and Wilson. Blair describes his ideology as the Third Way. This draws on some familiar Labour themes.
In the 34 years between 1945 and 1979, the Labour Party helped power for 17 years – the same number of years as the conservative. Between 1979 and 1997, the Party remain din position. Despites doubts that Labour could ever win an overall majority again, the Party proved doubters wrong by winning its largest ever overall majority in 1997 and for the first time won two consecutive terms with overall majority in 2001,
The Labour Party and the unions
Since the introduction of OMOV for leadership elections and the selection of parliamentary candidates in 1993, the power of the unions within the Labour Party has declined. Significantly due to the adoption of new fund-raising techniques, the proportion of Labour’s income from union sources fell from c.70% in 1987 to c.47% in 1997 to c.30% in 2003.
The constituency Labour Party:
Until 1987, one of the key functions of the CLP was to select parliamentary candidates. But since 1993, every ordinary member has been able to vote in the selection process. Local and national election campaigns are organised at constituency level. Delegates are elected by the CLP to attend regional and annual conferences.
The Labour Party’s Partnership in Power reforms of 1997 resulted in the setting up of policy forums, enabling CLP members to participate in the policy-making process.
Labour Party headquarters:
In 1997, the Labour Party moved its headquarters from Walworth Road to Millibank Tower, a set of prestigious offices in Central London. This was the culmination of a process of greater profesionalisation in the Labour Party which had begun during the leadership of Neil Kinnock. The offices at Millibank were first used in 1995 when the communications and polling operation moved there. This operation played a central part in what was generally acknowledged to be a highly effective Labour campaign in 1997.
The National policy forum:
The National policy Forum was set up in 1990 to streamline the part’s policy-making process and to produce a rolling programme of policy-making. The Forum appoints various policy commissions. Each commission deals with a specific policy area, producing reports for the NEC and conference to approve. Each commission has around 20 members and is headed by the front bench MP.
The voting system:
Before 1993, voting was dominated by trade unions which had one conference vote for every registered affiliated member of the Labour Party. Each unions cat all its votes in a single block.
In 1993, an electoral college was introduced. This divided conference into a unions section with 70% of the vote and a constituency section with 30% of the vote.
In 1995, the proportion of votes in the union section was reduced 50% reducing union influence over the Party.
The leader and the Parliamentary Labour Party:
Until 1980, the PLP alone chose the Leader in a series of ballots. The last Labour Leader to be elected in this was Michel Foot in 1980; he defeated Denis Healey in the second ballot.
Selecting the Leader and Deputy leader:
Between 1981 and 1988, candidates had to secure the support of 5% of the PLP before they could be nominated. Following Tony Benn’s abortive challenge to Neil Kinnock in 1988, the rules were changed.
Since the candidates have had to secure the support of 12.5% of the PLP if there is a vacancy or 20% of the PLP if there is no vacancy to the positions while Labour is in the opposition. If Labour is in government then whether there is a vacancy or not, challengers have to secure the support of 20% of the PLP and they also have to gain the backing of 2/3rd of those who can vote at annual conference. Before 1981, challenges to the leadership while the Labour Party was in government were not allowed.
Since 1981, the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader have been chosen by an electoral college. Between 1981 and 1993, this Electoral College was split as follows: trade unions had 40% of the vote; the CLPs had 30% of the vote and the PLP had 3% of the vote. Since 1993, this Electoral College has been divided equally between trade unions, CLPs and the PLP. Also in 1993, one member, one vote has been introduced. So every paid up member of the Labour Party is able to vote in the constituency and every trade union member who pays the political levy and whose trade union is affiliated to the Labour Party is able to vote in the trade union section.
Leadership election in 1994
The location of power 1955-94:
The fact that Labour Leaders continued to ignore or to act against the whished of the majority members in the years after McKenzie wrote his book in 1995 suggests that power remained with the Labour leadership. Indeed, there is good evidence that the moves towards centralisation undertaken by Neil Kinnock after 1983.
The location of power under Tony Blair 1997-2007:
By 1998, a debate was taking place about whether Blair’s reforms had strengthened or weakened democracy in the Party. Blair and his supporters argued that the new policy-making process provided a more focused and therefore effective role for members allowing them to influence policy during the consultation process and at Party conference. Moreover, the decision to hold internal referendums on the revision of CLAUSE IV and on the acceptance of the key principles on which Labour was to fight the 1997 general election can be interpreted as the leadership going a greater say to ordinary individual members.
