Britain: New Labour Flashcards
Blair
. His father was a Conservative
. Blair joined Lab after graduating Oxford uni
. He + fellow Lab modernisers Brown + Mandelson argued change was necessary for Lab to remain relevant - could no longer rely on working class vote
Blair as leader
. Charismatic, comfortable with media, portrayed himself as ordinary
. In touch w electorate: paid tribute to Princess Diana after her death, calling her “the people’s princess”
. His popularity soared to 93% in polls
Blair ideology
. Much of Cons’ trade union reform was accepted, no renationalisation of industries - the Third Way
. Critics argued he didn’t rly stand for anything: jettisoned traditional Lab policies + accepted Thatcherite ideas to win power
Labour after 1997 election
. Many worried success wouldn’t last
. Tight control over media messages, splits within party (eg Blair and Brown) hidden
Devolution - Scotland
. Inc. unpopularity for Cons called for it
. Referendums held in 1997: voted in favour of devolving power to a Scottish parliament + this parliament having tax raising power
. New Scottish Assembly established at Edinburgh, system of proportional representation
Devolution - N.I. and Wales
. Welsh referendum agreed to set up Welsh Assembly in Cardiff but with limited power
. Gov in N.I. devolved after Good Friday Agreement
Devolution - results
. In Scotland SNP and in Wales Plaid Cymru got more support
Mayor of London
. Intro of elected Mayor in 1999
. First election in 2000, Blair blocked Ken Livingstone from running - fear he’d tarnish image of New Labour
. He ran as an independent + won - Blair forced to accept him back in the party
House of Lords
. Tried to reform it in 1999
. Hereditary peers not abolished but cut to 92
. Unsatisfactory to almost everyone
Reforms to Parliament
. Pre-election discussions had been held w Lib Dems about possible reforms to electoral system
. Commission led by Roy Jenkins set up to examine alternative voting systems
. It reported in 1998 + recommended that first past the post be replaced w a more proportional system
. No changes were made
Freedom of Information Act
. Passed in 2000
. Gave ppl the right to request info from public bodies
. By 2006 100,000+ requests made each year
. Blair later saw it as a mistake + him as “naive, foolish”
. He argued it would prevent politicians from making diff decisions bc they feared their actions would become public knowledge
European Convention on Human Rights
. Incorporated into UK law through Human Rights Act 1998
. However the way judges interpreted this sometimes created unexpected difficulties for the gov
. Eg 2004 the gov had to amend anti-terrorist legislation allowing indefinite detainment of UK non-nationals suspected of terrorism bc the House of Lords ruled this was incompatible w the Act
1997 Pledges
. Not overly ambitious - developed many policies of previous Con govs
Education
. ‘education, education, education’ key commitment
. In ed, Lab gov kept league tables + inspections intro’d by Major’s administration
. Targets extended + more specialist schools encouraged
Crime
. ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’
. Designed to counter belief that only Con Party was strong on law and order issues
. Measures to reduce social exclusion - a cause of crime
. But also longer prison sentences
Education and Health Reform
. Promised more teachers, doctors + nurses
. Improving exam results + shorter waiting times for operations
. July 2001: a special delivery unit set up to ensure reforms were implemented + increasingly targets were used to try + enforce change
. Blair disappointed by how slow reforms were
Crises
. Rising fuel prices led to blockade in 2000 by farmers + lorry drivers; foot + mouth disease hit farmers of cattle + sheep led to culling of 10mil animals
. People in countryside felt Lab was too urban + didn’t properly understand their issues
. Worsened when Lab tried to ban hunting with dogs
Banning Hunting with Dogs
. Long battle with House of Lords over the issue
. The pressure group the Countryside Alliance organised a march, half a mil ppl attended in 2002
. Ban was passed in 2004
Brown’s Initial Priorities
. Keep inflation low
. Keep gov spending under control and prove to Middle England that Lab was pro-business + could be trusted w running the economy
. This would enable Lab to escape from previous image as ‘tax-and-spend’ party
Gordon Brown
. Allowed to be chancellor from 1997-2007 w complete control over economic policy in return for not running against Blair as party leader
. Inherited very favourable economic circumstances
Brown and the Bank of England
. He made it independent from gov
. Meant gov would set target for inflation but up to the Bank of England to decide where to set interest rates to meet this target
. He also set the Treasury rules abt how much could be borrowed by the gov
. In effect he was kinda following Thatcherite policy that supply of money needed to be controlled
‘Prudence with a Purpose’
- Brown
. Purpose of a stable growing economy was to improve public services
. After 2001: injection of money into public services
. Big inc. in investment reflected in new schools + hospitals + pay rises to nurses, docs + teachers
Result of Spending
. Exam results went up, waiting lists went down
. The Lab gov argued this spending was necessary to make up for years of under-funding + neglect under the Cons administration of 1979-1997
In order to avoid raising taxes
. Lab, like Cons, continued to use private sources of funding for improvements to public services
. Some criticism of funding of new projects through Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
. The buildings usually got completed quickly but debts were stored up for the future
By 2007 pros
. Inflation kept under control: 1997-2007, 1.6% . Record numbers of people in work . Unemployment 1997-2007 less than 6% . Living standards remained high . Consumer economy boomed
By 2007 cons
. Some economists, eg Will Hutton, warned that consumer boom was based on rising house prices + on high levels of credit card spending + personal debt
. Rather than increased productivity
. Danger that this ‘bubble’ might not last
Northern Ireland Context
. Lot of vital work had been done by Major
. Potential to end the Troubles in N.I.
. Talks involving all diff N.I. parties since 1996
. John Hume, leader of Social Democrat Labour Party, had persuaded Gerry Adams + Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein that negotiated settlement was possible
Unionists and republicans
. Trusted the chairman of the talks, George Mitchell, a former US senator who was Clinton’s special envoy for Northern Ireland
Blair in N.I.
. Close working relationship w Taoiseach Ahern
. Continued through 1997-2008; this helped keep support of republicans
. Lab Sec of State for N.I. Mo Mowlam kept paramilitaries on board by visiting them in Maze prison
. B’s personal commitment also vital + he proved capable of reassuring David Trimble + Ulster Unionists that Sinn Fein could be trusted
Final negotiations
. April 1998: tense, went on for 17hrs after the final deadline set by Mitchell was missed
. One of the UUP negotiators, Jeffrey Donaldson, walked out 9 Apr over lack of progress in ensuring that the IRA would decommission its arms, leading to fears that the negotiation would collapse
The Good Friday Agreement
. 10th April 1998, announced by George Mitchell
. Both the UK + Irish Republic would give up claim on NI as it’d be up to NI to decide whether they’d remain part of UK or join Irish Republic
. A devolved Assembly + a power sharing Executive
. Links between NI + Republic of Ireland + between UK and Republic of Ireland would be strengthened
The Good Friday Agreement - further key elements
. Parties would use influence to ensure decommissioning of arms
. There should be an independent commission to oversee reform of policing
. There could be early release of prisoners where paramilitary organisations were committed to peace
The Referendum
. Held on 22 May
. NI: 71% 94% in Republic voted for agreement
. Opposition on both sides: leaders of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams + Martin McGuinness, v nervous of a republican backlash
. David Trimble + Ulster Unionists feared powerful negative influence of Ian Paisley, DUP leader
Negative response to Good Friday Agreement
. Omagh bombing in 1998: killed 30, carried out by Continuity IRA
. Over the next 10yrs unionists became disillusioned w some parts of agreement + DUP overtook the UUP as the main unionist political party in Northern Ireland
. Democratic Union of Protestants were hard-line btw
Following 10 years in Northern Ireland
. Blair remained closely involved during premiership
. Devolved institutions had to be suspended 2002 til St Andrews Agreement 2006 which reiterated key elements of Good Friday Agreement
. NI regarded by many as Blair’s greatest achievement
Following 10 years in Northern Ireland: Disagreements Over…
- whether paramilitaries were really decommissioning arms
- early release of convicted terrorists
- the right of the Protestant Orange Order to march on its traditional routes
