The Remaking of Labour, 1987-1997

Résumé 0

This paper advances a distinctive interpretation of New Labour by way of a study of the transformation of the Labour Party during the Major years. Many interpretations of New Labour assimilate it to the neoliberalism of Thatcher, with some observers coining the term “Blaijorism” to imply that there was no difference between Labour under Tony Blair and the Conservatives under John Major. These interpretations of New Labour imply that Blair simply abandoned Labour’s historic principles. In stark contrast, this paper argues that New Labour is a product of a much longer process of remaking the Party and its policies, a process that began symbolically in the late 1980s with the launch of the Policy Review by Neil Kinnock. The paper shows how the Policy Review led to a transformation in Labour’s economic, industrial, welfare, and foreign policies for the 1992 election. It shows how these policy shifts went along with attempts to reform the organization of the Party itself. And it shows how both the changes in party structure and party policy continued after John Smith replaced Kinnock as Party leader. In short, Blair’s leadership rebranded the Party as New Labour but the new product arose from a long process of change deeply rooted in the Party and its traditions.