Suchergebnisse

This article challenges the current orthodoxy, for instance put forward by Driver and Martell (1998), that New Labour represents a clearly defined break from the Labour Party's past. Drawing upon accounts of Labour's historical development, I argue that Labour in government has always been concerned with forging cross-class alliances, more often than not in the face of bitter internal opposition from the party's grass-roots membership. I conclude that the objectives of the Blair government are not dissimilar from those of the Attlee and Wilson administrations, and that where the means to achieve these ends differ – for example with regard to social policy – this is a rational response to the profound economic and social changes that have taken place since the 1970s.

This article challenges the current orthodoxy, eg, that put forward by Driver & Martell (1998), that New Labour represents a clearly defined break from the Labour Party's past. Drawing upon accounts of Labour's historical development, I argue that Labour in government has always been concerned with forging cross-class alliances, more often than not in the face of bitter internal opposition from the party's grassroots membership. I conclude that the objectives of the Blair government are not dissimilar from those of the Attlee & Wilson administrations, & that where the means to achieve these ends differ -- eg, with regard to social policy -- this is a rational response to the profound economic & social changes that have taken place since the 1970s. 27 References. Adapted from the source document.