Modern Labour Party

Question 1

what is the debate over the modern Labour Party?

Answer 1

the Labour Party is often defined as a left-of-centre or left-wing party

traditionally, in the days of Old Labour, the party was committed to nationalisation, the redistribution of wealth and helping the most disadvantaged in society

but the extent to which the modern Labour Party has remained true to these traditional Labour values is widely debated

Question 2

arguments to suggest that the modern Labour Party has not remained true to traditional Labour values

Answer 2

New Labour’s economic policy, attitude towards the working class and approach to law and order represent a break from traditional Labour values

Question 3

arguments to suggest that the modern Labour Party has remained true to traditional Labour values

Answer 3

the Labour Party under Corbyn, with its economic policy, stronger commitment to representing the working class and proposals for building a more equal British society seem to suggest a resurgence of traditional Labour values

Question 4

conclusion

Answer 4

while the party has at times moved away from Old Labour policies, overall the modern Labour Party has remained true to traditional Labour values

Question 5

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour economic values: what has Labour traditionally been committed to?

Answer 5

traditionally, Labour has been committed to nationalisation because it believed that the state could play a key role in controlling economic activity and in securing social goals, which may be described as statism

consequently, under Old Labour, major industries were brought into public ownership and run in the interests of the community — among the industries nationalised were coal, steel, shipbuilding, rail and energy

Question 6

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour economic values: Clause IV

Answer 6

under New Labour, the traditional commitment to nationalisation disappeared when Tony Blair rewrote Clause IV of the Labour Party’s Constitution, abandoning the pledge to nationalise major industries

Question 7

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour economic values: PFI contracts

Answer 7

instead of nationalising, Blair enlisted the private sector to deliver public services

for example, Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts were awarded to private firms to build new schools and hospitals

Question 8

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour economic values: acceptance of free market capitalism

Answer 8

traditional Labour values seemed to favour a managed economy where the government was a key actor

but, in modern times, the Labour Party has sought to work with the market economy and be bound by the rules which a market system dictates, thus rewarding individual merit and hard work as a prime motivator

it has accepted that capitalism is the best way of creating wealth so should remain largely free of state control

essentially, the state should be an enabling state, regulating capitalism rather than controlling it

Question 9

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to traditional Labour economic values: nationalisation

Answer 9

under Corbyn, there seems to have been a notable return to more traditional Labour economic commitments

for instance, the party is now committed to the nationalisation of the railways, water and energy industries

this pledge to nationalise England’s 9 water companies, regain control of energy supply networks, bring the railways back into public ownership as franchises expire and reverse the privatisation of Royal Mail “at the earliest opportunity” was featured in their 2017 manifesto

Question 10

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to traditional Labour economic values: taxation

Answer 10

the Labour Party also plans to re-introduce the 50p rate of tax on the highest earners (above £123,000)

as well as take an extra £48.6 billion in tax, including over £6 billion from the top 5% and £19 billion from corporation tax

this indicates a return to the traditional Labour redistribution of wealth through higher taxes for the wealthy and increasing government spending in order to create a fairer society

while New Labour demonstrated a break from traditional Labour economic policy, the Labour Party under Corbyn has indicated a return, which suggests that the modern Labour Party has remained true to traditional Labour values

Question 11

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from its traditional working class base: what has Labour been traditionally committed to?

Answer 11

traditionally, Labour has been committed to the needs of the working classes and has seen them as the most deserving section of society

as such, it has tailored policies to alleviating this section’s material poverty

this can be seen in the granting of wider powers to trade unions under Old Labour to enable them to take industrial action out of recognition that workers are weak compared to employers and so support must be given to trade unions and the disadvantaged working-class in order to restore the balance of power

Question 12

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from its traditional working class base: appealing to middle class voters

Answer 12

it is alleged that in order to be more electorally successful the modern Labour Party has had to widen its appeal to all classes and sections of society, thus weakening its links to the working class

it has reached out to other classes in society and also to the business and city groups rather than focusing primarily on the working class, which can be seen to contradict traditional Labour commitment to representing the ‘downtrodden’ in society – the party no longer seems to see itself as the party exclusively of the working class

Question 13

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from its traditional working class base: Blair’s vision for the party

Answer 13

Tony Blair saw the party’s future as being the party of the professional middle class: that is university-educated people rather than manual labourers

the party distanced itself from the trade unions and refused to restore the trade union powers that were largely removed in the 1980s, instead developing links to the business community

Question 14

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to its traditional working class base: New Labour (tax credits and minimum wage)

Answer 14

even under New Labour, significant steps were taken to benefit the working class and retain their support, suggesting that the Labour Party has not completely become a ‘middle-class party’ or stepped away from traditional Labour values

for instance, economic decisions were made that would maintain the party’s socialist roots such as Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

these state benefits for people on a low income who are struggling to raise a family highlighted that New Labour was keen to hold on to the strong working class base that Labour had inherited, while continuing to pursue economic growth

it also introduced a national minimum wage, which was a long-standing ambition of the Labour Party

Question 15

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to its traditional working class base: Corbyn (minimum wage)

Answer 15

more recently, under Corbyn, the party seems to have further strengthened its support for the working class

this is evident in its proposals to raise the minimum wage to at least £10 per hour and give more power back to the trade unions

as well as Corbyn’s claim that “Labour is back as the political voice of the working class”

therefore, the Labour Party is still committed to the working class, suggesting that the modern Labour Party has remained true to traditional Labour values

Question 16

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour law and order policy: what was Labour’s traditional view on law and order?

Answer 16

the differences between Old Labour and New Labour in their approaches to law and order indicate that the Labour Party may have departed from traditional Labour values

Old Labour traditionally held a more compassionate attitude towards criminality – looking at the sociological influence behind crime, as well as economic factors which may result in criminal tendencies

Question 17

examples of the modern Labour party breaking away from traditional Labour law and order policy: what is the Labour stance now?

Answer 17

while parts of the New Labour rhetoric did link crime with social exclusion, there was a much more conservative influence on their attitudes to crime

for example, under Blair, the prison population in 2005 rose to over 76,000, mostly due to the increasing length of sentences

he was insistent on being “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” and was willing to punish criminal behaviour while tackling poor social conditions

Question 18

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to the traditional Labour commitment to equality: traditional Labour stance

Answer 18

Labour has now strengthened its dedication to achieving equality to a similar degree as Old Labour

the traditional Labour value has been equality and the party, like the modern Labour Party, sought to redistribute income to reduce the worst inequalities

Labour has also always supported equal treatment under the law and tried to make sure that everyone has equal access to healthcare and education

for instance, comprehensive education was introduced in the 1960s to improve equality of opportunity, discrimination against women and ethnic minorities was outlawed in the 1960s and 1970s and equal pay for women was introduced

Question 19

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to the traditional Labour commitment to equality: gender audit all policy, abortion, etc

Answer 19

now, Labour has pledged to gender audit all policy and legislation for its impact on women before implementation

as well as continue to ensure a woman’s right to choose a safe, legal abortion while planning to work with the Assembly to extend that right to women in Northern Ireland

Question 20

examples of the modern Labour party remaining true to the traditional Labour commitment to equality: LGBT community

Answer 20

among other plans, it also seeks to reform the Gender Recognition Act and the Equality Act 2010 to ensure they protect trans people by changing the protected characteristic of ‘gender assignment’ to ‘gender identity’ and remove other outdated language such as ‘transsexual’

also seeks to bring the law on LGBT hate crimes into line with hate crimes based on race and faith, by making them aggravated offences