Reassessing New Labour Market, State and Society under Blair and Brown

An authoritative evaluation of the long-term legacy of New Labour. The first book-length retrospective assessment of New Labour in government which ranges across academic commentary and political debate Features brand-new essays from political figures associated with the Labour party, senior commentators and leading academics, all reflecting upon key policy areas and themes in relation to the New Labour administrations Includes a Foreword from Baron Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party; an edited conversation regarding the prospects for social democracy between Baroness Shirley Williams, leading Lib Dem politician, and Tony Wright (former Labour MP); and fresh evaluations of the Labour government's record and failings from the Shadow Minister John Denham MP Raises highly topical and important questions about the purpose and future of the Labour Party, and is designed to stimulate debate about the political challenges facing the centre-left in Britain

Patrick Diamond is a Doctoral Student at Sheffield University, Gwilym Gibbon Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Oxford. Patrick is also an elected member of Southwark Council.  He was previously Head of Policy Planning in 10 Downing Street and Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister. Patrick has spent ten years as a Special Adviser in various roles at the heart of British Government, including No.10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Northern Ireland Office, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) where he served as Group Director of Strategy.  

Michael Kenny is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield. He has published widely in the fields of political thought, British politics and public policy. In 2010 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Research into the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Cambridge, and is an Associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research and Demos think-tanks. He is currently writing a book on the politics of English nationhood.

Notes on Contributors

Preface: James Purnell

Introduction: Reviewing New Labour in Government: Progressive Dilemmas?: Patrick Diamond and Mike Kenny

Section 1
1. New Labour and Inequality: Paul Gregg
2. Solidarity Lost? Labour and the Politics of the Welfare State: Tim Horton
3. Reappraising New Labour's Political Economy: John Denham

Section 2
4. An Era of Constitutional Reform: Vernon Bogdanor
5. Rebuilding the Bonds of Trust and Confidence? Labour's Constitutional Reform Programme: John Curtice
6. New Labour and the Distribution of Power: Constitutional Reform, Human Rights and Civil Liberties: Francesca Klug
7. Localism under New Labour: Guy Lodge and Rick Muir

Section 3
8. Labour's Record on the Economy: Kitty Ussher
9. Labour and the Economy, 1997-2010: More than a Faustian Pact: Dan Corry
10. New Labour and the Politics of Ownership: Stuart White

Section 4
11. The Death of Class-based Politics: Peter Kellner
12. Back to Class: Lessons for the Labour Party: Alan Finlayson
13. Why did Labour's Public Sector Reforms Fail to Transform Communities?: Jessica Asato

Section 5
14. Shirley Williams in Conversation with Tony Wright
15. The New Labour Government's Place in History: Brian Brivati
16. Afterword: Future Directions for Labour: Patrick Diamond and Mike Kenny

Index