The New Labour Party

The Labour Party was born at the turn of the 20th century out

of the frustration of working- class people at their inability to field

parliamentary candidates through the Liberal Party, which at that

time was the dominant social-reform party in Britain. In 1900 the

Trades Union Congress (the national federation of British trade

unions) cooperated with the Independent Labour Party (founded

in 1893) to establish a Labour Representation Committee, which took

the name Labour Party in 1906.

The early Labour Party lacked a nationwide mass membership or

organization; up to 1914 it made progress chiefly through an informal

agreement with the Liberals not to run candidates against each

other wherever possible. After World War I the party made great

strides, owing to a number of factors: first, the Liberal Party tore

itself apart in a series of factional disputes; second, the 1918

Representation of the People Act extended the electoral franchise

to all males aged 21 or older and to women aged 30 or older; and

third, in 1918 Labour reconstituted itself as a formally socialist

party with a democratic constitution and a national structure. The

party’s new program, “Labour and the New Social

Order,” drafted by Fabian Society leaders Sidney and Beatrice

Webb, committed Labour to the pursuit of full employment with a

minimum wage and a maximum workweek, democratic control and

public ownership of industry, progressive taxation, and the expansion

of educational and social services. By 1922 Labour had supplanted

the Liberal Party as the official opposition to the ruling Conservative

Party.

In 1924, with Liberal support, James Ramsay MacDonald formed

the first Labour government, though his minority administration was

brought down less than one year later over questions of its sympathy

for the new Soviet state and over alleged communist influence within

the party. Labour emerged from the 1929 election as the largest

party in Parliament, though again it lacked an overall majority and

had to form a coalition government with the Liberals. In 1931 the

party suffered one of the severest crises in its history when, faced

with demands to cut public expenditure as a condition for receiving

loans from foreign banks, MacDonald defied the objections of most

Labour officials and formed a coalition government with

Conservatives and Liberals. In the ensuing election Labour’s

parliamentary representation was reduced from 288 to 52. The

party remained out of power until 1940, when Labour ministers

joined a wartime coalition government under Winston Churchill.

 Labour achieved a spectacular recovery in the general election

of 1945, when it won 393 seats and a comfortable 146-seat overall

majority in the House of Commons. Most commentators have

attributed this victory to the electorate’s overwhelming desire for

social reform and its determination to avoid a return to the interwar

era of economic depression and unemployment. Under the leadership

of Prime Minister Clement Attlee, the Labour governments of the

following six years built on the state’s recent experience of wartime

intervention to construct a postwar political consensus based on a

mixed economy, a much more extensive system of social welfare

(including a National Health Service), and a commitment to the

pursuit of full employment. Postwar economic recovery proved slow,

however, and in the 1950 election Labour’s majority was reduced to

five. In 1951 it lost power to the Conservatives.

Throughout the 1950s the question of whether, and how, to

adapt the party’s traditional socialist approach to an affluent

society—especially the question of the nationalization of industry—

divided Labour’s ranks. “Bevanites” (followers of former

health minister Aneurin Bevan) wanted a more socialist economic

policy and less dependence on the United States; the “revisionists,”

led by Hugh Gaitskell, Attlee’s successor as party leader, wished to

drop the commitment to the nationalization of industry. Labour did

not regain power until 1964 under Harold Wilson, who was prime

minister until 1970. Wilson attempted to resolve the problem of

Britain’s relative economic decline by pursuing a strategy of

technocratic reform, corporatist relations with business and labour

leaders, and a system of “indicative” economic planning, in

which the government attempted to facilitate economic

development in directions of predicted growth.

The party held power again from 1974 to 1979, first under

Wilson and then under James Callaghan. Labour’s narrow five-seat

majority in the election of October 1974 diminished through the

term, forcing the party to enter a “Lib-Lab” pact with the Liberal

Party. Although hampered by a small majority, the Labour Party

pursued controversial policies, including support for Britain’s

continued membership in the European Community and devolution in

Scotland and Wales, which was rejected by referenda in 1979.

Ultimately, the moderate social- democratic approach exemplified

by the Wilson-Callaghan years foundered on the twin rocks of

Britain’s chronic economic problems and Labour’s worsening

relations with its trade union allies.

Following the “Winter of Discontent” of 1978–79, when Britain

suffered a series of major strikes by trade unions, the party was

ousted from office by the Conservatives under Margaret

Thatcher. Subsequently, Labour underwent a period of considerable

internal turmoil. Aided by the leaders of some major trade unions,

the party’s left wing succeeded in forcing through a number of

organizational reforms that enhanced the power of grassroots

activists and trade unions in the selection of parliamentary

candidates and party leaders. In response, a number of leading

parliamentarians and supporters seceded from Labour and founded

the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. In the 1983 general

election Callaghan’s successor, Michael Foot, presented a radical

manifesto—dubbed the “longest suicide note in history” by Gerald

Kaufman, a Labour member of Parliament and critic of the party’s

reforms—that proposed extensive nationalization of industry,

economic planning, unilateral nuclear disarmament, and the

withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Community.

The result was Labour’s worst national electoral defeat in more

than 50 years. Foot was replaced later that year by Neil Kinnock, a

politician with leftist credentials who set about reestablishing

Labour as a credible national electoral force. Kinnock’s

“modernization” process, which involved a reevaluation of party

policies and the elimination of extremists—including the Trotskyist

wing, Militant Tendency—contributed to Labour’s electoral revival

but was not sufficient to deprive the Conservatives of their

governing majorities in the general elections of 1987 and 1992.

Nevertheless, the process was continued by Kinnock’s successors as

party leader, John Smith (1992–94) and Tony Blair (1994–2007). In

a series of programmatic and organizational changes, the party

reembraced the mixed economy, declared its support for European

integration, dropped its unpopular unilateral nuclear disarmament

policy, rewrote the clause of its constitution that committed it to

the public ownership of industry, and gave serious consideration to a

new range of constitutional reforms, including devolution, voting

reform, and reform of the House of Lords.

Prior to World War II, Labour’s electoral support was based

largely on blue-collar workers and middle-class socialists. Since the

1960s, sections of the middle class who worked in the public sector

joined the coalition. After 1979 the Labour vote became heavily

regionalized and concentrated in industrial areas of Scotland, South

Wales, and northern England, though the renovation of the party

leading up to the electoral victory of 1997 succeeded in restoring

significant support in urban areas across southern England.

Approximately two-thirds of Labour’s vote still comes from blue-

collar workers, though they account for only about one-third of the

party’s membership. Individual membership, which stood at about

350,000 at the end of the 1990s, has declined since 1960, though

there was an upsurge during Blair’s first years as party leader.

For financial support, the party has relied heavily on its trade

union affiliates throughout its history. Since the early 1990s,

attempts have been made to reduce this dependence, though the

degree of change has not been significant. About half of the Labour

Party’s income is derived from union sources; the remainder comes

from individual members, a variety of wealthy donors, and modest

returns on investments. Although union members already were able

to opt out of automatic political financial contributions that were

going primarily to the Labour Party, in July 2013 party leader Ed

Miliband proposed that those contributions become nonautomatic, or

a matter of opting in.

The party’s increasingly close ties to British corporations under

Blair’s leadership provoked anger from the trade unions, some of

which took steps to end their association with the party, including

beginning talks in 2002 with the Conservative Party and the Liberal

Democrats.

The 1983 general election marked a low point for the Labour
Party. Under Michael Foot, it suffered a landslide defeat, taking

just 27.6% of the vote and giving Margaret Thatcher's

Conservatives a 144-seat Commons majority. The party's manifesto,

with its pledges of unilateral nuclear disarmament and withdrawal

from the European Common Market, was memorably described as the

"longest suicide note in history". Memories of the last Labour

government, which had ended in economic paralysis and the "winter

of discontent", were strong. The Social Democratic Party, founded

by breakaway Labour moderates, was also draining support.

The situation looked hopeless. Yet, amid the carnage of 1983,

two ambitious young MPs entered Parliament - Gordon Brown and

Tony Blair. Sharing a Commons office, they began discussing how

Labour might, just might, become electable again.

Neil Kinnock is widely seen as having done much of the

groundwork to make the New Labour project possible. As Labour

leader he fought hard to remove the left-wing Militant tendency

from the party and attempted to modernise its image and policies.

He hired TV producer Peter Mandelson to oversee Labour's next

election campaign. Under his guidance the red rose symbol - rather

than the red flag - was adopted. Mandelson also talent-spotted Blair
and Brown, to whom he became a friend and mentor. But the 1987

election saw another big loss, with the Conservatives taking a 102-

seat majority. Brown and Blair, on the modernising wing of the

party, were beginning to think much of Labour's dogma had to be

cast aside if the Tories were to be beaten. They both rose under

Kinnock, with Brown becoming shadow trade and industry secretary

and Blair shadow home secretary.

In 1983 and 1987 Labour had expected to lose to the Tories,

but in 1992 came its biggest disappointment, with a third defeat in a

row. Much of the blame was placed on Labour's "shadow budget",

including shadow chancellor John Smith's proposal to raise the top

rate of income tax from 40p to 50p. The Tories were able to

lampoon Labour's "tax bombshell". After the election, Kinnock

resigned and Smith took over the leadership, with Brown as shadow

chancellor and Blair keeping the home affairs brief. Blair and Brown

now wanted to beat the Tories on their own ground, making Labour

appear an obvious, safe, reliable party of government.

The only question was, who would run for leader: Blair or Brown?

Mandelson, previously seen as closer to the early front-runner

Brown, switched to back Blair. This caused a huge rift in "The

Project", as the modernising scheme became known, which would last

more than a decade.

Brown, though widely regarded as the senior figure in the

partnership, stood aside for the more telegenic Blair after the two

met to hammer out a deal at an Islington restaurant. Thousands of

articles - and even a TV film - have speculated about the terms of

their agreement, especially an apparent promise from Blair to hand

over power to Brown at some point in the future. In the ensuing

leadership contest Blair easily beat Margaret Beckett and John

Prescott. Blair, as Labour's new leader, extended the party's lead

over the tired John Major-led Conservative government.

The Daily Mirror journalist Alastair Campbell became Blair's

spokesman, adding extra media savvy to Blair's team as they sought

to win over previously anti-Labour newspapers. The message was

that Labour had changed. Mantra-like, at that year's autumn

conference, Blair closed his speech with the words: "Our Party -

New Labour. Our mission - New Britain. New Labour - New Britain."

After the words came Blair and the New Labour movement's

great battle against the party's traditionalists, eventually doing

away with the historic and heavily symbolic Clause IV of Labour's

constitution, calling for the "common ownership of the means of

production".
 New Labour claimed it had changed enough to challenge the

Tories on the economy, erasing voters' painful memories of the late

1970s, and began the "prawn cocktail offensive" to win over a

sceptical City, convincing many financiers that the party had learned

the importance of financial responsibility - or "prudence" as Brown

put it.
VICTORY

On 1 May 1997, Labour's 18 years in opposition came to an end.

The party won a 179-seat majority - the biggest in its history on a

manifesto which not only promised no income tax rises, but also a

pledge to stick to Conservative spending plans. Blair quickly became

the global pin-up for centre-left politicians. He also became a close

friend of US President Bill Clinton. The "Third Way", described as

the ideological underpinning of the New Labour project and bringing

market models to some government-run services, aroused interest

across the western world.

An improving economy boosted Blair and Brown's credibility and

their ambition of keeping the Tories out of power for a generation.

For now, New Labour could do what it liked in the Commons. The

huge majority meant backbench rebellions could be brushed off.

There was one significant casualty for The Project during the first

New Labour government. Mandelson, who had moved from the

background to the frontline, was sacked - twice - from the cabinet.

He and Brown had long since stopped being close, but he continued

to advise Blair. The Tories continued to struggle in the polls under

William Hague, though, and Labour looked set for a continued spell in

power.
 This “New Labour” agenda, combined with highly professionalized

political marketing, produced a landslide victory in the general

election of 1997, returning Labour to power after 18 years of

Conservative Party rule and securing Tony Blair’s appointment as

prime minister. Through its policy of All Women Short Lists

(AWSLs), the Labour Party dramatically increased the number of

women in Parliament; in 1997 it elected 101 women members, nearly

25 percent of all Labour parliamentarians, bringing the total number

of women members to a record 120.

With a decisive 179-seat majority in Parliament, the Blair

government accepted some of Margaret Thatcher’s policies but

also carried out several of the reforms it promised in its

manifesto, including abolishing the right of most hereditary peers to

sit in the House of Lords and introducing devolved legislative

assemblies in Scotland and Wales after successful referenda.

It signed the Social Chapter of the Treaty on European Union,

which sought to harmonize European social policies on issues such as

working conditions, equality in the workplace, and worker health and

safety; helped to forge an agreement between Republicans and

Unionists in Northern Ireland; modernized the format of “Prime

Minister’s Question Time,” during which the prime minister is

required to answer questions from the opposition in person; and

promised eventual referenda on the introduction of the euro, the

European Union’s single currency, and reforms of the electoral

system. In 2001 the party won a second consecutive landslide

victory, capturing a 167-seat majority— the largest-ever second-

term majority for any party in the House of Commons.

Despite the party’s electoral success, Blair’s leadership style

was often criticized by his Labour opponents as dictatorial. Blair also

faced internal dissent over his support for the U.S. policy of

military confrontation with Iraq in 2003, when 139 Labour members

of Parliament backed an amendment opposing the government’s

policy. Nevertheless, in 2005 Labour won its third consecutive

general election (albeit with a significantly reduced majority) for

the first time in the party’s history. In 2007 Blair resigned the

prime ministership in favour of his longtime chancellor of the

Exchequer, Gordon Brown. In the subsequent general election of

2010, Labour won 258 seats in the House of Commons and lost its

majority. Brown stepped down as leader of the party and on May 11

tendered his resignation as prime minister.

In an election dubbed the "quiet landslide" by some

commentators, Labour won again in 2001 with another huge Commons

majority, of 167. And, with the first-term pledge to match the

Conservatives on public finances gone, Brown could start spending.

The NHS, schools and other public services saw large infusions of

cash. Stories about the 1994 "deal" between Blair and Brown became

more widespread, with speculation about when the chancellor would

become prime minister. Had the two decided that Blair would give

way by 2004, after 10 years as Labour leader? Or halfway through

Blair's second term as prime minister? Or any of dozens of other

arrangements? Some commentators regarded the pair as joint prime

ministers anyway, with Brown having primacy over vast areas of

domestic policy.

Increased spending on hospitals and medical staff were popular

among all sections of Labour. However, the leadership used up much

of its goodwill within the party with the Iraq war - opposed by 139

Labour MPs - and by introducing "top-up" university fees for higher

education students in England - opposed by 71 of their MPs. The

latter measure passed by just five votes, after the intervention of

Brown to ensure his backers supported the government. At the

2004 Labour conference, the rock star Bono likened Blair and Brown

to two members of the Beatles, calling them the "John and Paul of
the global development stage". The description might equally have

been applied to their lives in Downing Street. While a compliment to

their talents, it brought back memories of two great egos

increasingly unable to share adulation - and power.

BLAIR'S WARS

The 11 September 2001 bombings shocked the world. The prime

minister immediately pledged his support for President Bush's "war

on terror". Later that year, the UK joined the United Nations-

backed invasion of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, backed by most

Labour supporters.

But the alliance with Bush drew Blair and the UK into New

Labour's largest foreign affairs crisis, the invasion of Iraq. Despite

hundreds of thousands of protesters massing on the streets of

London in 2003 and a parliamentary rebellion by Labour MPs

following a bitter debate, the war went ahead. The defeat of

Saddam was swift but the situation in Iraq was volatile with

frequent suicide bombings and 179 UK service personnel and

Ministry of Defence staff dying as UK and US planning for the

aftermath of war came under criticism too. The war became more

unpopular through New Labour's second term, denting Blair's

authority and leading to ever-increasing questions about whether he

was planning to step down.

Under pressure from the Brownites, frustrated that their

man had still not risen to the Labour leadership, Blair finally gave

way. He announced in late 2004 that he would fight the next election

and then serve a "full term" in office, but leave without contesting a

fourth election. Critics claim that this fundamentally undermined the

prime minister's authority, knowing that he had set himself a

timetable, however vague, for his time in office. The expression "full

term" caused confusion. Did it mean four more years, 10 years as

prime minister? Was it a masterly effort to stall Brown's ambition

without actually promising anything much? Whatever it meant, Blair

won an unprecedented third term in power for Labour in 2005, with

a reduced, but still sizeable, Commons majority of 66.

After Tory leader Michael Howard stood down, the government

faced a sterner challenge in David Cameron, a man who, like Blair

and Brown more than a decade earlier, was determined to

make his party electable once more. A young man, he had even

described himself during his leadership campaign as the "heir to

Blair". The threat was real.

In his first prime minister's questions session Cameron looked at

Blair and proclaimed: "He was the future once." The lustre of New

Labour and Blair was fading. There were also frequent newspaper

reports of Blair and Brown falling out to such an extent that they

were hardly speaking, let alone working, together. Finally, in 2006,

following an attempted backbench coup against him led by Brownites,

Blair announced he would leave office within a year.

Blair left to the sound of applause in the Commons in June

2007, after more than 10 years in power. Brown, whether people

believed a deal had been reached or not, had always seemed the

most likely successor as Labour leader. This proved correct when he

easily beat off his rivals, who did not gain enough support among the

party's MPs to ensure a vote among the full membership. Despite

lacking Blair's charisma, Brown enjoyed a "honeymoon period", some

even saying a less showy alternative to his predecessor was what the

country needed - "Not Flash, Just Gordon".Leading Cameron in the

polls, many thought the prime minister would call a general election
for autumn 2007. Media speculation was allowed to continue, if not

actively encouraged.

But with election fever at a peak the BBC's Andrew Marr was

called in to interview the PM and came out into Downing Street to

announce Brown had decided against going to the country. The

Conservatives, whose post-conference poll boost was seen as

prompting the decision to abandon plans for an election, called Mr

Brown a "bottler". His poll ratings slumped, never to recover.

At the 2010 election, Brown's Labour gained 29% of the vote -

little more than Michael Foot had achieved 27 years earlier. The

party came second to the Conservatives, with no- one gaining a

majority. After a flurry of talks a Conservative-Lib Dem

government, the first Westminster coalition since the 1940s, was

formed. David Cameron and his allies had captured much of the

coveted centre-ground of politics, so hard won by Blair, Brown and

Mandelson in the 1990s.

Brown left, to set up a leadership contest, saying the election

result had been "my fault and my fault alone". Anthony Giddens, the

political thinker behind the Third Way, declared: "New Labour as

such is dead and it is time to abandon the term." The five candidates

to succeed Mr Brown seem keen to make clear they are a break with

New Labour. But, given that four of them grew up as special

advisers, and then ministers, under New Labour, its influence looks

likely to live on.