British Culture - User contributions [en]

New Labour

2011-05-24T22:23:10Z

Peterbbh:

New Labour is the designation given to the Labour Party under Tony Blair. The new manifesto and orientation of the Labour Party were designed by Tony Blair and his shadow cabinet in a phase of a renewal of the party before the election campaign in 1997. The adjective ‘new’, consequently, refers to changed and amended policies that were intended to improve the chances of being elected, as there were fewer manual workers. For this reason, the Labour Party was trying to broaden their capacity of reaching middle class voters and thereby shifting from the left to the ‘radical centre’. This approach allowed New Labour to stress their view that the market was not social but that the best way to resolve this problem would be a way between socialism and liberalism, which was called ‘the Third Way’. The remodelling of the party found its basis in the amendment of ‘Clause 4’ of the party statutes. The Labour Party changed the following passage:

To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.

The amended version reads as follows:

The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.

Its dedication to public ownership was changed to a commitment to an economy which was capitalistic in principle, however, including social redistribution of wealth. By changing its constitution, the party wanted to demonstrate that is was internally and externally democratic. At the same time, it rejected radical socialism and labourism, which was meant to be substituted by a social pragmatism. The essence of these changes was a commitment to liberal markets, which were supplemented with communitarian policies, i.e. social groups and private incentives. The privatisation policies introduced by Margaret Thatcher were not reversed, but New Labour created incentives to set up projects to make the private sector invest. Under Tony Blair, New Labour made huge investments by subsidising jobs for less skilled workers. Additionally, there was a focus on public-private partnerships and incentives for private companies to invest in the public sector in exchange for profitable returns. As a consequence to the party’s interventionism, there was an explosion of government activity, as more money was spent on the public sector and the creation of new government bodies, e.g. the so-called ‘social exclusion unit’. Blair’s approach to law and order is best expressed by his catchphrase ‘tough on crime/zero tolerance’, which resulted in stricter anti-social behaviour laws. There was a high increase of government activity, which resulted in highly increasing debt.
Although New Labour was regarded as basically continuing Thatcher’s policies, there were also striking differences between their agendas. New Labour’s approach to the other parts of the UK was very different, which is often referred to as ‘devolution’, i.e. devolving legislative power to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. A national minimum wage was also agreed on under New Labour, and the Social Charter of the Maastricht Treaty was eventually signed by Britain, which had been rejected by Thatcher’s administration. In general, New Labour was much more pro-European than it used to be before its renewal.
Some of Blair’s polices were very controversial in the Labour Party, which is why he is sometimes said to have had a presidential way of leading the party. In general, it can be said that New Labour broadly embraced a new form of consensus, i.e. policies that were in accordance with the ones established by the previous government, but there were also striking differences. The shortcomings of the Thatcher administration were intended to be changed and there was a much stronger focus on social policies and attitudes towards society and its communities but, overall, New Labour followed a new liberal way opened up by Thatcher. Due to this, Blair and his cabinet were referred to as ‘Thatcher’s children’.

New Labour

2011-05-17T17:55:02Z

Peterbbh: Created page with 'New Labour is the designation given to the Labour Party under Tony Blair.'

New Labour is the designation given to the Labour Party under Tony Blair.

Margaret Thatcher

2011-05-17T10:10:48Z

Peterbbh:

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (maiden name: Roberts), Baroness Thatcher, was born on 13 October, 1925 in Grantham (Lincolnshire) as the daughter of a grocery retailer. She was the first female Prime Minister ever to serve Britain and she won three successive elections for the Conservatives. She was in office from 1979 until 1990. Thatcher holds a degree in chemistry and law. Thatcher has two children and was married to Dennis Thatcher († 2003).

Margaret Thatcher started her political career in Dartford (Kent) and fought the constituency for the Conservatives in 1950 which she failed to win in the general election. Under Harold Macmillan Thatcher became MP for Finchley in 1959. During her time as MP, Thatcher took up a few government posts, such as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. In 1975, Thatcher challenged Edward Heath for the party leadership and wins on the second ballot. After the general election in 1979, Thatcher would be PM until 1991.

The term ‘Thatcherism’ refers to Margaret Thatcher’s time as PM and combines her policies and public appearance as one single form of conducting politics. The following points will illustrate the policies that together make up what is called ‘Thatcherism’.

In 1979, Britain was in difficult socio-economic circumstances because of a declining economy, high inflation, and union strikes. This culminated in the so-called ‘winter of discontent’, which paved the way for Thatcher’s election campaign strategy with which she won the election. Thatcher was determined to stop Britain from its supposed economic and social ‘decline’.
During her time, Thatcher was criticised for being neo-liberal, as she successfully reduced the power and influence of labour unions. She thought that labour unions were the source of economic downturn in Britain as they prevented companies or industries from innovating their businesses. Therefore, Thatcher introduced some measures that were intended to make it harder for unions to call out a strike, such as a majority strike system or illegalise go on sympathy strikes. Thatcher also reduced the amount of subsidies paid to businesses as this would mean a distortion of economic developments. In this regard, the former British Keynesian approach to economics was criticised under Thatcher as being too socialist, so that a change in economic policies brought about the closure of many factories. These measures of the ‘supply-side economics’ was mixed with the theory by Milton Friedman which broadly supported an economic approach based on companies rather than on society as a whole, which is also frequently referred to as ‘laissez-faire economics’. This also included less state regulation together with fewer social labour rights for workers. Thatcher also reduced the welfare system in order to encourage people to take on work. Additionally, one of the main economic aims of her time in office was to keep inflation as low as possible, in which she eventually did not succeed. She wished to transform Britain into an enterprise-culture with more privatisation (e.g. British Rail), and tax reduction for the middle class. Thatcher famously claimed that ‘there was no such things as society’ which meant that her approach was almost totally focused on the individual rather than society.

On the contrary, Thatcher took advantage of the wider society when it came to foreign policy. Thatcher’s was at the height of her career during the ‘Falkland Wars’, when she promoted a strong and liberal Britain on the international stage. The war was a means of showing how strong Britain still could be with much focus on British grandeur, which from her point of view had to be restored. To Thatcher, Britain was an exceptional country whose civilisation progress had to be re-strengthened through the reversal of Britain’s decline. This notion was also conveyed in her time in office when it came to foreign policy. Thatcher’s form of foreign policy was classified as ‘handbag diplomacy’, and during European negotiations she often refused to cooperate but stressed the fact that British interests were paramount. Her form of diplomacy isolated Britain on the European stage and introduced a stronger form of ‘British Euroscepticism’. Rather than turning to Europe, Thatcher used to stress the importance of the ‘special relationship’ with the United States of America, whose former president Ronald Reagan was a close ally and a personal friend of hers.

Margaret Thatcher

2011-04-24T20:22:18Z

Peterbbh:

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (maiden name: Roberts), Baroness Thatcher, was born on 13 October, 1925 in Grantham (Lincolnshire) as the daughter of a grocery retailer. She was the first female Prime Minister ever to serve Britain and she won three successive elections for the Conservatives. She was in office from 1979 until 1990. Thatcher holds a degree in chemistry and law. Thatcher has two children and was married to Dennis Thatcher († 2003).

Margaret Thatcher started her political career in Dartford (Kent) and fought the constituency for the Conservatives in 1950 which she failed to win in the general election. Under Harold Macmillan Thatcher became MP for Finchley in 1959. During her time as MP, Thatcher took up a few government posts, such as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. In 1975, Thatcher challenged Edward Heath for the party leadership and wins on the second ballot. After the general election in 1979, Thatcher would be PM until 1991.

The term ‘Thatcherism’ refers to Margaret Thatcher’s time as PM and combines her policies and public appearance as one single form of conducting politics. The following points will illustrate the policies that together make up what is called ‘Thatcherism’.

In 1979, Britain was in difficult socio-economic circumstances because of a declining economy, high inflation, and union strikes. This culminated in the so-called ‘winter of discontent’, which paved the way for Thatcher’s election campaign strategy with which she won the election. Thatcher was determined to stop Britain from its supposed economic and social ‘decline’.
During her time, Thatcher was criticised for being neo-liberal, as she successfully reduced the power and influence of labour unions. She thought that labour unions were the source of economic downturn in Britain as they prevented companies or industries from innovating their businesses. Therefore, Thatcher introduced some measures that were intended to make it harder for unions to call out a strike, such as a majority strike system or illegalise go on sympathy strikes. Thatcher also reduced the amount of subsidies paid to businesses as this would mean a distortion of economic developments. In this regard, the former British Keynesian approach to economics was criticised under Thatcher as being too socialist, so that a change in economic policies brought about the closure of many factories. These measures of the ‘supply-side economics’ was mixed with the theory by Milton Friedman which broadly supported an economic approach based on companies rather than on society as a whole, which is also frequently referred to as ‘laissez-faire economics’. This also included less state regulation together with fewer social labour rights for workers. Thatcher also reduced the welfare system in order to encourage people to take on work. Additionally, one of the main economic aims of her time in office was to keep inflation as low as possible, in which she eventually did not succeed. She wished to transform Britain into an enterprise-culture with more privatisation (e.g. British Rail), and tax reduction for the middle class. Thatcher famously claimed that ‘there was no such things as society’ which meant that she approach was almost totally focused on the individual rather than society.

On the contrary, Thatcher took advantage of the wider society when it came to foreign policy. Thatcher’s was at the height of her career during the ‘Falkland Wars’, when she promoted a strong and liberal Britain on the international stage. The war was a means of showing how strong Britain still could be with much focus on British grandeur, which from her point of view had to be restored. To Thatcher, Britain was an exceptional country whose civilisation progress had to be re-strengthened through the reversal of Britain’s decline. This notion was also conveyed in her time in office when it came to foreign policy. Thatcher’s form of foreign policy was classified as ‘handbag diplomacy’, and during European negotiations she often refused to cooperate but stressed the fact that British interests were paramount. Her form of diplomacy isolated Britain on the European stage and introduced a stronger form of ‘British Euroscepticism’. Rather than turning to Europe, Thatcher used to stress the importance of the ‘special relationship’ with the United States of America, whose former president Ronald Reagan was a close ally and a personal friend of hers.

Margaret Thatcher

2011-04-16T08:37:53Z

Peterbbh: Created page with 'Margaret Hilda Thatcher (maiden name: Roberts), Baroness Thatcher, was born on 13 October, 1925 in Grantham (Lincolnshire) as the daughter of a grocery retailer. She was the firs…'