The Labour Party Flashcards
when was the party founded?
-Feb 1900
what are Labours main concepts?
-social class, support for most disadvantaged.
-community, natural instinct to form communities.
-common ownership
-social equality
-fraternity, more unites us than divides us
-need
some ideas of Labours ideology?
-reduce inequality in society
-progressive taxation system to redistribute real income
-regulate capitalism
-promotion of equal rights
-reduce poverty etc.
in 1945 what were Labour committed to?
-mixed economy, both publicly and privately owned industries.
-economic management, regulated economy in line with Keynes.
-comprehensive social welfare, cradle to grave welfare
what was the parties biggest challenge against the conservatives?
-arrival of Thatcherism and the end of the post-war consensus.
-exposed the Labour Parties divisions.
how did Labour respond to the 4 straight defeats in the 80s and 90s?
-modernise the party, adapted position in relation to the role of the market and responded more favourably to individualism espoused by Thatcher.
-Blair adopted ‘New Labour’.
what was ‘new labour’ committed to?
-market economics, economy should be regulated by the market but not the state.
-social justice, party remained committed to social justice but this was reinterpreted to mean social inclusion to ensure that rather than a redistribution of wealth there was a redistribution of possibilities and equal opportunity, education and training emphasised.
-social investment state, targeted benefits aimed to give the individual the means to be independent and to tackle inequality and poverty.
-community not class, individuals need to balance their rights with their responsibilities and found in ‘respect agenda’ in 2005.
in the 2019 election what economic policies were old labour?
-party’s commitment to increasing income tax for the top 5% of earners, reversing the tories cuts in corporation tax from the Cameron years, clamping down on tax avoidance of large corporations as well as tackling insecure work and low pay.
-belief that key public services should be in public hands not making profits for shareholders.
in the 2019 election what economic policies were new labour?
-party still recognises the importance of the market and the individual in generating wealth, proposed top rate of tax falls well below the progressive rates of the 1970s and opposed immediate tax hikes on businesses due to fear it would restrict economic recovery.
in the 2019 election what welfare policies were new labour?
-abolish universal credit and replace it with an alternative that is designed to end poverty by delivering a minimum standard of living.
-emphasis on social inclusion by delivering a minimum standard of living.
in the 2019 election what welfare policies were old labour?
-abolition of tuition fees.
in the 2019 election what law and order policies were old labour?
-central plank of policy is to focus on social justice, tackling poverty and inequality and rebuilding public services as the key way to make society safer.
in the 2019 election what law and order policies were new labour?
-party’s commitment to place an extra 2,000 police officers on the streets over the number promised by the tories.
in the 2019 election what foreign policies were old labour?
-based on an internationalist approach with the aim of international peace and justice.
-pledges no more ‘illegal’ wars seeking to introduce a prevention of military intervention act that will make war only possible when certain legal steps have been achieved and it has been approved by parliament.
in the 2019 election what foreign policies were new labour?
-UK should continue to accept freedom of movement of people with the EU after Brexit.
-wholehearted support for investment in defence and the nuclear deterrent
