Labour, Modernisation and the Third Way

Abstract

In 1997, after eighteen years of being exiled to the opposition benches, the Labour Party regained office. It entered government, committed to the modernisation of welfare provision, and determined that having gained power it would not lose it through incautious behaviour or by pursuing policies associated with ‘old’ Labour socialism (Levitas, 1998). In its desire to distance itself from its predecessors, it re-branded itself as ‘new’ Labour. After five years in office and the day-to-day business of government, but with a second general election victory secured, the sense of being ‘new’ has faded. Nevertheless, re-election was an opportunity to remind the voters of Labour’s vision:

We favour true equality: equal worth and equal opportunity, not a crude equality of outcome focused on incomes alone. Strong public services — universal but personalised — are fundamental to this vision of a fairer, more prosperous society (Blair, 2002: 2).