New Labour

By: Stephen Driver (University of Surrey Roehampton) and Luke Martell

• Description
• Buy book / Order Exam Copy
• Reviews
• Table of Contents
• Author Information

Description

In May 2005 the Labour Party led by Tony Blair won an unprecedented third term in power. After eight years in government its achievements were many. But there was controversy too, not least the decision to support the United States in the invasion of Iraq. The Blair government promised to be different both at home and abroad. New Labour would move social democratic politics on in the face of a rapidly changing world. It would also take British politics and policy-making beyond Thatcherism. But how successful has it been?

In this second edition of the widely praised New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism, Stephen Driver and Luke Martell explore the origins of New Labour and examine in detail the Labour government's record in power. They argue that this record bears the imprint of the reforms to the British state and society made under successive Conservative administrations. At the same time, New Labour has taken British politics and public policy in directions that reflect the party's progressive, liberal and social democratic past. New Labour is post-Thatcherite.

The completely revised second edition of New Labour contains:

- An accessible and comprehensive account of New Labour politics
- Up-to-date policy chapters on economic, social and constitutional affairs
- A new chapter on European and foreign policies
- An original and critical interpretation of New Labour and the future of social democratic politics in Britain, Europe and other parts of the world

The second edition of New Labour will be an invaluable resource for students of politics, sociology and other social sciences, those involved in public policy and public affairs and anyone looking for an accessible guide to New Labour and the Blair government.

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* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
Please note: Sales representation and distribution for Polity titles is provided by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

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Reviews

"Balanced, authoritative and judicious. Tapping a wide range of sources, it makes a very substantial contribution to our understanding of New Labour ... An excellent student text."
Parliamentary Affairs

"In the last twelve years New Labour has reshaped British politics. Stephen Driver and Luke Martell are essential reading on this political transformation and have pioneered an influential interpretation of its significance. In this updated version of their key text they provide a balanced, authoritative and above all readable account of the origins of the New Labour project and its record in office."
Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield

"Yet again, Stephen Driver and Luke Martell have provided an important contribution to ongoing debates about character of the Blair administration. As well as covering New Labour's domestic agenda, this volume is significant in addressing the international and European dimensions that have become so central in recent years. Packed with information and drawing on a wide range of sources, New Labour is set to become an essential text for our understanding of British politics."
Mark Wickham-Jones, University of Bristol

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Table of Contents

• Preface
  
• Introduction
  
• Chapter 1 -- The Making of New Labour
  
• Chapter 2 -- New Labour and Social Democracy
  
• Chapter 3 -- Labour and the Economy
  
• Chapter 4 -- Labour and the Welfare State
  
• Chapter 5 -- Public Service Reform
  
• Chapter 6 -- Government and the Constitution
  
• Chapter 7 -- European and Foreign Policy
  
• Chapter 8 -- Post-Thatcherism
  
• Index

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Author Information

Stephen Driver is Principal Lecturer in Social Sciences at Roehampton University.

Luke Martell is Reader in Sociology at the University of Sussex.

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