Tony Blair and New Labour

• When Tony Blair became Labour leader in 1994, he recognised that the party needed to continue the move away from traditioning working-class and trade union support
• In 1994, Blair announced that Clause IV of the party constitution, which called for the 'common ownership of the means of production and exchange' would be replaced with a less committal statement; the Party formally embraced free-market policies
• In 1994, he rebranded the Party 'New Labour' to make clear to British voters the different direction it had taken since the mid 1980s
• The extent to which New Labour, and its key leaders (such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, were the real inheritors of Thatcherism has been disputed by political commentators
• The commitment of New Labour to Thatcher's ideas:

  • complete rejection of any commitment to nationalisation
  • aim to continue T's policy of law direct taxation
  • big business would be embraced and free markets allowed to flourish
  • no reversal of anti-trade union laws
  • issues of class politics no longer focus
• Despite Thatcherite objectives, New Labour attempted to promote 'inclusiveness'

  • emphasis on commitment to social justice
  • aimed to promote equal distribution of opportunities for everyone
  • committed to a minimum wage (introduced 1998)
  • massive investment in order to create equal opportunities