BLAIR 1997-2007 CHAPTER 22

Question 1

WORKERS

Historically the Labour Party was the party of the workers - when the Labour Party was elected to government in 1997 many believed that their long connection with the trade unions would make them much more sympathetic to trade union concerns, however

decline

Answer 1

the decline of trade unions, which had begun in the 1980s, continued  the percentage of the workforce with membership of a union fell from 29 % to 26 % - though this rate of decline was much smaller than it had been previously.

Question 2

WORKERS

Instead, the influence that trade unions had on the Labour Party, for example through the block vote, had already been limited in the reforms passed by Smith and Blair; New Labour preferred to emphasise its

Answer 2

pro-business attitude.

Question 2

WORKERS

despite the hopes of many trade unionists, New Labour did not repeal the trade union legislation that had been passed by the Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997  the Labour government was often openly critical of strike action by trade unions.

this was because

Answer 2

New Labour believed that the labour Party’s links with the trade union movement and memories of the ‘winter of discontent’ was one of the reasons that it had not been electable in the 1980s.

Question 3

WORKERS

Some trade unions were also extremely critical of the Labour government for continuing to pursue policies such as

Answer 3

outsourcing and PFI, which had been introduced by the Conservative Party in the 1980s and 1990s.

Question 4

WORKERS

Although the Labour government protected the employment rights of workers who moved from the public to the private sector in this way, they allowed contracting out to continue.

also continued privatisations - give examples

Answer 4

Similarly, the Labour government not only did not reverse the privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s, it extended them  the Air Traffic Control organisation was sold off; London Underground moved to a public-private partnership; there were even discussions about selling off Royal Mail, which Major had not dared to do – many trade unions were dismayed by this.

Question 4

WORKERS

• The Labour government also welcomed globalisation as an opportunity for economic growth  argued that Britain had to learn to better compete in the new globalised world economy by increasing the skills of its workers.

why?

Answer 4

• This would allow Britain to develop a knowledge economy that would add value with more efficient systems and processes, often utilising new technologies.
• This new efficiency would increase productivity.

Question 5

WORKERS

• Although there was not an explicit commitment to full employment, there was an emphasis on supporting people into work. Blair expressed it as ‘work for those who can, security for those that can’t.’

so a new programme called…

Answer 5

• The New Deal programme targeted particular groups of the unemployed - young people, older workers, the disabled, lone parents - and promised support to help them find work. This might be training or guidance, work in the voluntary factor to gain experience, or a subsidised job placement.

Question 6

WORKERS

• There was also a great deal of emphasis on ‘making work pay’.

so they introducd…

Answer 6

• 1998- the Labour government introduced the National Minimum Wage. A Low Pay Commission was set up to oversee and set the wage, though initially it was set at an extremely low rate.

Question 7

WORKERS

• In addition, Brown introduced tax credits, which were ?

Answer 7

means-tested benefits paid to people with low incomes with specific elements targeted at, for example, those with children or with a disability

Question 8

WOMEN

• In 1997 the number of women elected as MPs rose to 120, double the previous number. Of these,

how many were labour? why?

Answer 8

101 were Labour MPs. Labour had introduced All women shortlists to half of what it considered its most winnable seats in a deliberate attempt to try and increase the number of women in Parliament.

Question 9

WOMEN

• Women were often the main beneficiaries of New Labour’s policies.

childcare/pension

Answer 9

• Childcare provision was extended: by 2007 all 3- and 4-year-olds were entitled to 12.5 hours a week of free nursery education which was to rise to 15 hours by 2010. Similarly, women were given pension credits when unable to work because of caring responsibilities.

Question 9

WOMEN

• Women were also making progress, albeit slow, in the board room. Between 1999 and 2007, the percentage of FTSE 100 companies that had no women on the board fell from 36 % to 24 %.

what were the 2 reasons why critics argued?

Answer 9

However, critics argued that there was limited progress on other issues such as the pay gap, with women still only earning 87 % of what men did in 2007.
Critics also argued that New Labour’s emphasis on paid employment undervalued the unpaid work in the home and with the family which women did; one report found that, by 2007, when couples were compared, women still did three times the amount of housework as men.

Question 10

YOUTH

• There was a great deal of focus on youth by the New Labour government.

why?

Answer 10

• The government itself was seen as a youthful alternative to the Conservatives.

Question 11

YOUTH

• Tony Blair was the youngest prime minister to have been elected. He had three school-age children, and a fourth was born in 2000. This was an image which was emphasised.

what did he do after he won the election?

Answer 11

Not long after the election victory in 1997, Blair hosted a celebrity party at 10 Downing Street, attendees included Noel Gallagher from the band Oasis, the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who had risen to notoriety during the punk era of the 1970s, and the actress Helen Mirren.

Question 12

YOUTH

• A concentration on issues that affected young people also complemented New Labour priorities. A key objective was to end

Answer 12

social exclusion and the Social Exclusion Unit was set up in 1997 to coordinate this effort.

Question 13

YOUTH

• The aim to end social exclusion led to the establishment of Sure Start centres. These centres aimed to help families with children by providing

Answer 13

guidance and information and ensure that preschool children were supported to be ready for school.

Question 14

YOUTH

In addition, Blair, in 1999, pledged to end child poverty in 20 years, and through policies like child tax credit had brought it down by

Answer 14

a quarter by 2005.

Question 15

YOUTH

• Similarly, the Connections service was created to advise teenagers about the choices they had when they left school. New Labour also aimed for

what % to go to uni?

Answer 15

50 % of young people to go to university, believing that this would produce the highly skilled workforce needed to compete in the globalised world economy.

Question 16

YOUTH

• However, there were also concerns about youth issues. Despite the New Deal for Young People, the number of NEETs had increased to almost 20 % by 2007. And it was partly fears over youth crime that led to the introduction of the Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO).

what was this?

Answer 16

An ASBO was a court order which would put limits on what the defendant could do. For example, it could impose a curfew or ban someone from going to a particular estate or shopping centre. Breaching an ASBO was a criminal offence.

Question 17

YOUTH

• ASBOs aimed to prevent antisocial behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, or intimidation.
  These were not solely aimed at young people although they became the main recipients: by 2005

what %?

Answer 17

46 % of ASBOs went to under-17-year-olds.

Question 18

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• In some ways there was a lot of evidence that Britain was a multicultural society and was comfortable with this. The year 2002 saw

Answer 18

the first black cabinet minister appointed, when Paul Boateng became the chief secretary to the Treasury. Mosques were a familiar feature of many towns and cities.

Question 18

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Globalisation had accelerated the movement of people. So did the consequences of famines and regional conflicts. The rapid expansion of the European Union had opened the way for people from Central and Eastern Europe to move to Britain.

* These migrants included:

Answer 18

skilled workers and professionals, coming to fill skills shortages; the families of immigrants already living in Britain; foreign students at British universities; people from the new states who acceded to the EU in 2004 and 2007; asylum seekers displaced by the wars in Afghanistan, frag and other conflicts in the world. The changing nature of immigration sometimes raised tensions.

Question 19

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• Schools, local government and corporate organisations launched initiatives to celebrate the cultural background of people from ethnic minorities, many of whom had been born in Britain. Festivals like the Notting Hill Carnival attracted millions. Many people took pride in the progress made towards

Answer 19

a genuinely multicultural society; in 2005 London successfully bid to hold the 2012 Olympic Games and one of its key selling points was the multiculturalism of the city.

Question 20

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• This did not mean that there was no racial tension. The Macpherson Report, published in 1998, about the murder of Stephen Lawrence, identified problems of ‘institutional racism’ in the Metropolitan Police. The BBC chairman, Greg Dyke, acknowledged that his workforce was

Answer 20

‘hideously white in 2001, believing that the organisation did not do enough to attract and retain people from ethnic minorities.

Question 21

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• There were also complaints that not enough emphasis was being placed on the responsibilities of immigrants to properly integrate into Britain and that even some people who were born in Britain were alienated from British society and culture. This was highlighted by

Answer 21

the terrorist attack on London in July 2005. On 7 July 52 people were killed as 4 suicide bombers attacked 3 underground trains and a bus.

Question 22

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• When the bombers were identified it was discovered that three of them were

and the leader,

Answer 22

British-born citizens who had appeared to be wholly assimilated into society and leader of the group, Mohammed Sidique Khan, had been a well-respected community worker in West Yorkshire.

Question 23

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• There were two main responses to these terrorist attacks. Some people argued that it was necessary to find out why men like Khan had become so alienated and how relations with ethnic minorities could be improved so that they did feel more British. One common belief was that Britain’s foreign policy,

Answer 23

especially the war in Iraq, had dangerously alienated British Muslims. In 2006 the post of secretary of state for local government and communities was created; one aim of the role was to work with local communities to prevent extremism

Question 24

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• Two weeks later, on 21 July 2005, four more suicide bombers attempted a similar attack, but the bombs failed to explode. There was an extensive manhunt for those involved and on 22 July

Answer 24

a young Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes, was mistaken for one of the terrorists and shot dead by armed police. Four men were later convicted for the attempted attacks. Although they had been born in Ethiopia and Somalia they were naturalised British citizens. The attacks caused much soul-searching about security issues and about community relations.

Question 25

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Others argued that the essential need was for greater security. In 2006 the Labour government passed the controversial

Answer 25

National Identity Card Act arguing that identity cards were needed to fight terrorism; likewise the Terrorist Act 2006 increased the time that a suspect could be held without charge to 28 days, though this was fewer than the 90 days the government had wanted.

Question 26

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Critics looked at the experience of the Irish Troubles between the 1970s and the 1990s, emphasising the importance of not overreacting and cutting back civil liberties; they pointed out that the introduction of

Answer 26

internment of terrorist suspects in Ireland in the early 1970s had simply encouraged recruitment to these organisations.

Question 27

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• These terrorist incidents highlighted broader concerns about multicultural Britain. Pressure groups, Internet blogs and some sections of the national press claimed that this was a problem that threatened social cohesion and the ‘British way of life. In the 2001 election, opinion polls found that

compare to 2007

Answer 27

immigration was regarded as a vital issue by only 3 % of voters; similar polls in 2007 put the figure at nearly 30 %.

Question 28

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

The pressure group Migration Watch, headed by a retired diplomat, Sir Andrew Green, focused on the

Answer 28

dangers of large numbers of immigrants arriving so quickly that public services such as health and education were overstretched.

Question 28

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• It was hard to separate myths from realities. Some newspapers like the Daily Express focused on the potential problems, associating migrants (particularly from Eastern Europe) with

Answer 28

criminal behaviour and with taking jobs away from local people, or driving down wage levels by accepting low pay.

Question 29

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• Most economists argued that the nation benefited economically from migrants: they filled labour shortages, brought valuable skills, set up useful small businesses and were a net gain to the economy. They argued that most migrants were

Answer 29

young, active and healthy, so they did not make heavy demands on public services and often worked in them. Migrant families tended to have more children at a younger age, with a beneficial impact on overall birth rates. It was also pointed out that migration did not flow only one way.

Question 30

THE EXTENT TO WHICH BRITAIN HAD BECOME A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

• Many migrants returned home; about one third of migrants from Poland did so. Similarly, many British people

Answer 30

were leaving to work abroad or to buy retirement homes in Spain.