Current Labour government (UK)

This article covers aspects of the current Labour government from 1997 under Tony Blair (1997-2007) to today under Gordon Brown.

Background

Labour was elected in a landslide victory over John Major's Conservative government, which had become deeply unpopular. Tony Blair had become leader of the Labour Party in 1994 and set about re-branding the Labour Party as 'New Labour' in a bid to widen the party's appeal.

In government

One of the first acts of the 1997 Labour government was to give the Bank of England operational independence in its setting of interest rates. It also held to its pledges to keep to the spending plans set by the Conservatives, it also started its introduction of an educational reform programme, in which Labour introduced new ways of teaching, and later introducing new forms of schools.

The Labour government also introduced was Britain's first National Minimum Wage Act. And there have also been various programmes targeted at specific sections of the population: the target for reducing homelessness was achieved by 2000, for example. Chancellor Gordon Brown oversaw the 'SureStart' scheme intended for young families, a new system of tax credits for those working with below-average incomes and an energy allowance provided to pensioners during the winter. By most statistical measures, unemployment also fell from just over 1.5 million in 1997 to around one million.

In December 1997, 47 left-wing Labour MPs rebelled when the government carried through the previous administration's plans to cut the benefits paid to new single-parents. Tuition fees for university students were also introduced. The government also promoted wider use of Public Private Partnerships and the Private Finance Initiative, which were opposed particularly by trade unions as a form of privatisation.

Several Policy Taskforces in 1997 and 1998 included industrialists and business leaders such as Lord Simon, a former chairman of BP, Lord Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, and Alec Reed of Reed Employment. There have been various reports regarding the effect of such close links, in policies such as the Public-Private Partnerships, the deregulation of utilities, privatisation, and the tendency to outsource government services.

Labour's second term saw substantial increases in public spending, especially on the National Health Service, which the government insisted must be linked to the reforms it was proposing. Spending on education was likewise increased, with schools encouraged to adopt "specialisms". Teachers and their trade unions strongly criticised the Prime Minister's spokesman Alastair Campbell when he stated that this policy meant the end of "the bog-standard comprehensive".

In foreign policy Labour aspired to put Britain "at the heart of Europe" while attempting to maintain military and diplomatic links to the United States. Initially, Robin Cook, as Foreign Secretary of the first Blair Cabinet, attempted to instigate an "ethical foreign policy".

While the next Foreign Secretary Jack Straw somewhat downplayed this, the party sought to put the promotion of human rights and democracy, and later the war against terrorism, at the core of British foreign policy. This was first evident when Blair and Cook initiated Operation Palliser, in which British troops intervened to stop massacres in Sierra Leone. This led to an emphasis on the Department for International Development, with ministers Clare Short and Hilary Benn holding influence within the administration. Tony Blair managed to persuade Bill Clinton to take a more active role in Kosovo in 1999, and British forces took part in the international coalition which attacked the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 after the regime refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden and expel Al Qaeda from the country in the aftermath of the 11 September, 2001 attacks.

Blair decided to send British troops to fight alongside the United States and a number of forces in smaller numbers from around the world in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Government's involvement in the invasion caused some public disapproval in the UK and within the Labour party, with many calling Tony Blair's credibility into question when questions were raised as to the veracity of intelligence concerning Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction. This loss of support contributed to the substantial reduction of Labour's majority in the 2005 general election.

New Labour in the media

New Labour (as a series of values) is often characterised as a belief in "no rights without responsibilities" – that a citizen should recognise that one possesses responsibilities linked with any legal rights they hold. The concept of a "stakeholder society" is quite prominent in New Labour thinking.

The name "New Labour" has been widely satirised. Critics associate the new name with an unprecedented use of spin doctoring in the party's relationship with media. The Conservative Party attempted to tarnish the new Labour tag during the 1997 election campaign using the slogan "New Labour, New Danger". After Gordon Brown's budgets became more and more Keynesian, "Private Eye" magazine began to call the party "New" Labour.

Criticism

In left-wing circles, the name "New Labour" or Neo Labour is used pejoratively to refer to the perceived domination of the Labour Party by its right-wing. Indeed, some argue that Labour has become so fond of neo-liberal policies that it is Thatcherite rather than democratic socialist or even social-democratic (cf. "Blatcherism").

Questions also emerged regarding the centralised and highly personalised style of Tony Blair's leadership, with some critics seeing this as a sign of creeping presidentialism. [For instance [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4492463.stm "Blair's leadership a core issue"] BBC website accessed 7 April 2007 ]

Labour's third successive term from 2005

The party's popularity and membership have steadily declined since 2003. [cite news
last = Wintour
first = Patrick
coauthors = Sarah Hall
title = Labour membership halved
work = The Guardian
pages =
language = English
publisher = Guardian News and Media Ltd
date = 2004-08-03
url = http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,1274855,00.html
accessdate = 2008-01-31] Labour won the 2005 general election with 35.3% of the total vote and a majority of 66. Their majority fell to 62 following a by-election loss to the Liberal Democrats and Claire Short's decision to sit as an Independent MP.

Terrorism

Tony Blair's third term was dominated even more than the second by the issue of terrorism. Shortly after the General Election, in the July 2005 7-7 bombings, a number of bombs were detonated on buses and tube trains in London. A fortnight later, further attempts were made by alleged terrorists to launch bombings, although failed. The Blair government attempted to crack down on the perceived threat of terrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, but the Labour government were defeated in a House of Commons vote over the length of time suspected terrorists could be detained without trial: although most of the Terrorism Bill passed into law, the 90-day limit the government wanted was rejected when 48 Labour MPs rebelled, with a compromise limit of 28 days agreed by the House of Commons, receiving Royal Assent on 30 March 2006 passing into law.

Despite opposition from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and some Labour MPs, the Bill for the introduction identity cards has passed through all of its readings in the Commons so far.

Resignation of Tony Blair

In the 4 May 2006 local elections, the Labour Party lost over 300 councillors across England. The gains went largely to the Conservative Party, who saw their best results since 1992. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2006/locals/html/region_99999.stm BBC NEWS | Election 2006 | Seat-by-seat | UK - National council ] ] The election followed the release by the Home Office of 1,043 foreign prisoners who had been slated for deportation, nurses being made redundant due to deficits within the National Health Service resulting in the Health Secretary being heckled at the annual conference of the Royal College of Nursing, and revelations about a two-year extramarital affair of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and his assistant private secretary Tracey Temple.

Following the poor election results, Tony Blair planned a cabinet reshuffle, and speculation about the date of his departure as leader and Prime Minister intensified. Blair had announced in 2004 that he would not fight a fourth general election as Labour leader but stated that he would serve a full third term. However as his term progressed, dissent within the party increased and Blairs refusal to call for an Israeli ceasefire during the 2006 Lebanon War increased his unpopularity within the party. Following an apparent attempted coup to force him out, in which a number of junior government members resigned in protest at his continued leadership, he announced that the September 2006 TUC and Labour Party Conferences would be his last as leader and Prime Minister.

On 10 May 2007, he announced that he would stand down as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007. Gordon Brown, the long-serving Chancellor of the Exchequer, had long been widely expected to succeed Blair. He duly launched his campaign on 11 May 2007, and a few days later was the only candidate with sufficient nominations to stand. He therefore became Labour leader on 24 June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007.

Hilary Benn, [ [http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6090384.stm Benn to run for deputy position] BBC News] Hazel Blears, [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/deputyleader/story/0,,2019516,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1 Blears to run for Labour deputy and admits party 'disengaged'] The Guardian, Friday 23 February 2007] Jon Cruddas, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5385636.stm Ex-No 10 aide Cruddas will stand] BBC News] [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labourleadership/story/0,,1925117,00.html Leftwinger launches deputy leadership campaign] The Guardian] Peter Hain, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5337604.stm Labour deputy race gathers pace] BBC News] Harriet Harman [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5350360.stm Harman intends Labour deputy bid] BBC News] and Alan Johnson [cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFavvAbQK8gc&refer=europe|title=UK's Johnson Abandons Labour Party Leadership Race (Update2)|accessdate=2007-06-25] all stood for the Deputy Leadership and obtained the necessary 45 nominations from Labour MPs. Harriet Harman won the deputy leadership, narrowly defeating Alan Johnson with 50.43% of the final redistributed vote.

Government difficulties with public opinion

Many Labour supporters remain unhappy with the Labour government's policies regarding Iraq and the Identity card database. Others have been critical of increased taxation. And issues such as Donorgate have led to the erosion of public trust.

The Labour party suffered significant defeats in devolved elections in Scotland, Wales and local elections England on 3 May 2007. [ [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=9bd9a32e-968c-423b-9bde-9fc8ce319d6a&k=29728 Labour bracing for defeat] Peter Goodspeed, 'Labour bracing for defeat']

In Scotland, Labour was reduced to the second-largest Party after the Scottish National Party (SNP). In Wales, although still the largest party, it lost its already minority control of the Welsh Assembly. In England it lost so many local Councillors that it was reduced from second to third place in local Government, being overtaken by the Liberal Democrats.

References