Realignment of the Labour Party under Kinnock, Smith and Blair

Question 1

How and when did labour begin to modernise?

Answer 1

• 1987
• Kinnock as leader
• began modernisation but ridiculed by RW press
• positives:
• Abandoned the more left wing aspects of 1983 manifesto
• publicly criticised left wingers e.g Derek Hatton and Arthur Scargill of NUM
• abandoned electorally damaging policies

Question 2

Describe Labour + liberals in the 1987 election?

Answer 2

• Labour party defeated
• in 1987 Alliance share of popular vote faded to 23% and 22 seats
• David Steel merged the liberal and SDP after 1987 election
• damaged new Liberal democrat Party: vote dwindled to 18% in 1992

Question 3

How did Kinnock reorganise the party?
- key figures

Answer 3

• moved policies to central ground
• became much more professional in presentation
• 1985:
• Peter Mandelson, director of communications: effective
• John Smith –> shadow chancellor gave reassuring image of modernisation and competence

Question 4

How did the demise the the hard left realign the labour party?

Answer 4

• New Liberal Party weak
• return to 2 party system
• Neil Kinnock strong leader
• dominated the National Executive with his “soft left” allied
• 1988 defeated leadership challenge from veteran Tony Benn with 8 to 1 majority
• 1989 party conference, Ken Livingstone thrown off NEC

Question 5

How did Labour’s policies change under Kinnock?

Answer 5

• Labour’s economic programme accepted mixed approach toward economic planning instead of stereotyped nationalisation of 1983
• Europe: by 1989 more committed to developments within Community
• moved to more concern for consumer
• acceptance of need to curb power of unions

Question 6

Describe the testament which demonstrated labours change in policies?

Answer 6

• Roy Hattersley’s testament, Choose Freedom (1987)
• emphasised Labour’s commitment to equality and above all abandoning unilateral nuclear disarmament
• unpopular with British people
• announced formally at party conference in Oct 1989

Question 7

How was the growth of labour’s strength demonstrated by change in union attitudes? polls

Answer 7

• growing lead in polls
• unions, dormant in 1980s,
• now more positive in their approach
• through leaders such as Gavin Laird (Engineers), Tom Sawyer (NUPE) etc

Question 8

Describe the polls and by elections of 1989-91?

Answer 8

• Summer and Autumn of 1989, Labour led strongly in opinion polls again
• By election victories in the Vale of Glamorgan, Glasgow Central, and Vauxhall confirmed trend
• European election saw L capture 45 seats to C 32: first major defeat for Thatcher in 10 years of premiership
• Thatcher departed 1990
• Conservatives lost 900 seats in local elections of 1991

Question 9

Describe the results of the 1992 election?

Answer 9

• Labour lost in 1992
• accused of overconfidence
• Sun criticised him
• Many blamed Kinnock personally and he resigned as leader 4 days later

Question 10

How was John Smith as leader?

Answer 10

• Kinnock did not inspire confidence and offer better future
• succeeded by shadow chancellor, John Smith
• greater sense of intellectual self confidence than kinnock
• But conservative, cautious politician
• progress was made modernising and redefining party to centre ground

Question 11

How did policy towards Europe change under Smith?

Answer 11

• moved centre embracing European membership for economic advancement
• ‘Social Chapter’ advocated by Jacques Delors and other European socialists, was popular with Labour and the TUC alike
• supported by the likes of Gordon Brown and Blair
• Anti-European Bryan Gould, left the front bench in disgust in 1992
• Labour now had a united policy on Europe

Question 12

How did policy towards Taxation and public expenditure change under Smith?

Answer 12

• The transformation of Labour’s policies went on quickly in 1993-4
• Shadow Chancellor, Brown, emphasised Labour no longer aimed at high public expenditure, taxing the better off or the broad principle of state planning
• Effort devoted to improving L’s relations with the CBI; several influential figures in the business world announced their Labour sympathies

Question 13

How did policy towards law and order change under smith

Answer 13

• The Shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair, strove to change an impression of Labour being anti-police or soft on law and order issues. Labour, he declared would be:
  ‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’

Question 14

How did labour’s policy on nationalisation and Clause 4 change under Smith?

Answer 14

• Another Labour figure, Jack Straw, openly campaigned for the abolition of Clause Four
• Few believed that nationalisation played much part in Labour’s thinking any longer

Question 15

How did Smith change policy towards trade unions?

Answer 15

• focus on reducing hold of unions on party decision making
• No longer would a ‘social contract’ dictate Labour’s approach to power
• conflict with TUC leaders in 1993 in his efforts to promote ‘One Man One Vote’
  
  • Meant creating individual trade unionists as party members and ending trade union block vote at party conference
• succeeded in this even tho only by margin of 0.2%

Question 16

How did John Smiths premiership end?

Answer 16

• With Labour 20+ points ahead in the opinion polls in the spring of 1994, return to power seemed likely
• Then John Smith suddenly died of a heart attack on 12 May

Question 17

Blair had a lot of support:
Describe his win as leader of Labour party

Answer 17

• In the Electoral College on 21 July, Blair won an easy victory with 57%
• had 60% of MP’s vote
• spoke of “new labour” and “new Britain” with patriotism and compassion
• contrast to crumbling Tory Gov

Question 18

What was the image of Tony Blair?

Answer 18

• First speech as leader at Brighton party conference in 1994
• preached for ecumenism, modernisation and patriotism
• Labour’s mission to recapture the youth of britain
• language registered powerfully with electorate
• hard for his opponents to damage him

Question 19

When was Tony Blair’s election victory?

Answer 19

• 1997

Question 20

Tony Blair as leader:
What demonstrated he was popular?

Answer 20

• Blair victorious everywhere with 60% of the MP’s vote, 58% party membership and 52% of union vote
• spoke of “New Labour” leading “New Britain

Question 21

How was the image of Tony Blair?

Answer 21

• spectacular first speech as leader at the Brighton party conference in October 1994
• preached the gospel of ecumenism, moderation, and patriotism.
• said word new 37 times

Question 22

How did Blair’s personal leadership and the abolition of Clause Four lead him to victory in 1997?

Answer 22

• emphasis on his personal leadership
• Blair appealed directly to a growing party membership over the heads of party activists.
• He did this most dramatically by calling for a scrapping of Clause Four (trade unions)
• Clause Four was overwhelmingly rejected in a national party ballot in the spring of 1995
• used his personal machine, headed by Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell: press officer
• Blair’s power as leader extended itself to dominance over the National Executive and the annual party conference
• He scored heavily in the Commons when he told John Major: ‘You follow your party, I lead mine’

Question 23

How did Blair revolutionise the technique of politics to win the 1997 election?

Answer 23

• now emerged as ultra modern.
• It used the full range of sophisticated high technology from its control centre in Milbank.
• use of media to gain support
• The political scientist David Butler felt it to be the greatest change in British politics since the advent of television during the 1959 election.

Question 24

How did Blair transform policy to win the 1997 election?

Answer 24

• Labour under Blair moved back to the right of centre.
• He employed in his Policy Unit young men like David Miliband
• All the traditional policies were dropped
• Instead party proclaimed its closeness to business and the CBI:
• which said that it had no intention of raising higher taxes
• spoke of toughness on crime, distance from the trade unions
• Unions: peak of ~13 million members, now only 6.75 million
• Its most powerful notes were promises to rebuild the NHS and promote ’Education, education, education.’

Question 25

Describe the book on Blair

Answer 25

• written by Peter Mandelson
• The Blair Revolution (1996)
• discredited records of the Labour governments 1964-70 and especially 1974-79.
• allegedly belonged to the failed past.
• Morgan compares New Labour to an amalgam of Thatcherite economics amongst other things

Question 26

Describe the By-Elections of 1993-1997

Answer 26

• 1993 Tories lost 452 local council seats
• 1995 no fewer than 1,800 seats lost
• After the 1996 elections only 4,700 Conservative councillors against 10,800 Labour.
• By 1997 Conservatives lost Commons majority relied on Ulster Unionists.
• Major called a general election for 1 May 1997
• The Conservative machine was dull and inept
• The newspapers overwhelmingly favoured Labour: even sun
• The Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in their history
• Labour 419 seats as against the C 165, while the Liberals 46 seats