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Blairism

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Blair speaks in support of theNorthern Ireland peace processwhile visitingArmaghin September 1998.
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InBritish politics,Blairismis thesocial democraticpolitical ideology ofTony Blair,the former leader of theLabour PartyandPrime Ministerbetween 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known asBlairites.It entered theNew Penguin English Dictionaryin 2000.[1]Elements of the ideology include investment in public services, expansionary efforts in education to encouragesocial mobility,and increased actions in terms ofmass surveillancealongside a ramping up oflaw enforcementpowers, both of these latter changes advocated in the context of fightingorganized crimeandterrorism.Blairites have additionally been known for their contrast with the traditional support forsocialismby those believing inleft-wing politics,with Blair himself and others speaking out against thenationalisationof major industries and against alsoheavy regulationsof business operations. On foreign policy, Blairism is supportive ofclose relations with the United Statesandliberal interventionism,including advocacy for both theIraq warand theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

Ideology[edit]

See also:Third Way
U.S. PresidentBill Clinton(left) meets with Prime Minister Blair (right) in November 1999, with the American leader being a close political partner given their mutualAtlanticistviews and shared emphasis on theSpecial Relationship.

Politically, Blair has been identified with record investment into public services, aninterventionistandAtlanticistforeign policy, support for stronger law enforcement powers, a large focus on surveillance as a means to address terrorism and a large focus on education as a means to encouragesocial mobility.In the early years (circa 1994–1997), Blairism was also associated with support forEuropean integrationand particularly British participation in theEuropean single currency,though this waned after Labour took office.

The term is used in particular in contrast toBrownite,to identify those within the Labour Party who supportedGordon Brownrather than Blair. However, with Blair and Brown typically in agreement on most political issues[2](fromIraqtopublic sectorreform), some commentators have noted that "the difference between Brownites and Blairites [...] is more tribal than ideological".[3]This is believed to stem from a personal disagreement between Blair and Brown over who should run for the leadership following the death ofJohn Smithin 1994. Though Brown was originally considered the senior of the two, he waited until after Smith's funeral to begin campaigning, by which point Blair had gathered too much momentum to be defeated.[4]However, in his bookWhatever it Takes,Steve Richardsoffered an alternate view: that there were significant disagreements between the two about relative poverty, the level of public spending and the potential for choice in public services.[5]

In a 1999 article,The Economiststated:

Mr Blair will doubtless do his duty and lavish praise on Labour's glorious past. But, in truth, Mr Blair has always displayed a marked ambivalence towards Labour history. His greatest achievement in opposition was to get the party to ditch their historic commitment to nationalisation, and to water down its traditional links with the unions. At times he has even hinted that the very foundation of the Labour Party was a mistake, since it divided "progressive" politics and led to a century dominated by the Conservatives. Mr Blair knows that all this makes many of his party faithful deeply uneasy.[6]

Blair's tenure is known for an expansion ofLGBTrights, such as the introduction ofcivil partnerships.Blair told the LGBT organisationStonewallthat "what has happened is that the culture of the country has changed in a definable way" and that "it's a thing that doesn't just give me a lot of pride, but it has actually brought a lot of joy". Blair has also stated that he got up off his seat and danced upon seeing the first civil partnership ceremonies on television.[7]

Relationship to prior administrations[edit]

See also:Blatcherism

The Daily Telegraphstated in April 2008 that Blair's programme, with its emphasis on "New Labour",accepted the free-market ideology ofThatcherism.The article cited deregulation, privatisation of key national industries, maintaining aflexible labour market,marginalising the role of trade unions and devolving government decision making to local authorities as evidence. He also sought a closer, better relationship with Europe, and considered joining theEurocurrency, butGordon Brownwas not in favour.[8]

In theBBC Fourdocumentary filmTory! Tory! Tory!,Blair is described as personally admiringMargaret Thatcherdeeply and making the decision that she would be the first outside person he formally invited to visit him in10 Downing Street.[9]

FormerConservativePrime MinisterJohn Major,who Blair defeated in a landslide at the1997 general election;was one of the original figures behind theNorthern Ireland peace processthat Blair continued and both of them campaigned together in support of theGood Friday Agreement.

Blair privately called Thatcher "unhinged", a description that later became public knowledge.[10]Blair criticised the Thatcher government's record on poverty and made that a key issue for Labour economic policy. He made the goal to eradicatechild povertyin Britain within 20 years based on the fact that one-third of British children were in poverty post-Thatcher compared to the 9% rate in 1979 (although these statistics are disputed).[6]

In a 2001 speech to a Conservative election rally, Thatcher called New Labour 'rootless and soulless' saying at least Old Labour stood for certain principles, that respected them, and also said Blair does not truly believe in liberty. She also claimed the Labour government would give up theBritish poundto join the Euro.[11]

Blair also abolishedSection 28and created morepro-Europeaninitiatives compared to Thatcher.[citation needed]

In his 2010 autobiography,A Journey,Blair remarked:

In what caused much jarring and tutting within the party, I even decided to own up to supporting changes Margaret Thatcher had made. I knew the credibility of the whole New Labour project rested on accepting that much of what she wanted to do in the 1980s was inevitable, a consequence not of ideology but of social and economic change. The way she did it was often very ideological, sometimes unnecessarily so, but that didn't alter the basic fact: Britain needed the industrial and economic reforms of the Thatcher period.[12]

Relationship to later administrations[edit]

See also:Blair–Brown deal

Gordon Brown succeeded Blair as Prime Minister after Brown's long tenure as theChancellor of the Exchequer.Although viewed in the media as somewhat personally close, Blair later wrote in his autobiographyA Journeythat a "maddening" Brown effectivelyblackmailedhim while he was in 10 Downing Street. Blair accused Brown of orchestrating the investigation into theCash-for-Honours scandaland stated that the personal animosity was so strong that it led him to frequent drinking, a big change for Blair. Blair also has told journalistAndrew Marrthat as their years working together went on, co-operation became "hard going on impossible".[13]

Tony Blair criticised the departure from much ofNew Labourideology underGordon Brown's premiership,who blamed it forLabour's defeat in the2010 UK General Election:

Why did Labour lose the 2010 election? The answer to that, I’m afraid is obvious. Labour won when it was New Labour. It lost because it stopped being New Labour...Had he [Brown] pursued New Labour policy, the personal issue would still have made victory tough, but it wouldn’t have been impossible. Departing from New Labour made it so. Just as the2005 electionwas one we were never going to lose, 2010 was one we were never going to win – once the fatal strategic decision was taken to abandon the New Labour position.[14]

Impact on the Labour Party[edit]

TheLabour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbynwas seen as a departure from Blairism, and a return ofOld Labour,and was described as a 'return of the 1940s Labour Party' byThe Guardian,with its emphasis on re-nationalisation of energy, water, and railways and massive public investment in housing and the NHS.Jeremy Corbynwas critical of Blair's involvement in Iraq and voted against it at the time, garnering much support particularly from the youth vote. Labour increased its vote share by over 9% in2017,costingTheresa Mayher majority in Parliament, but with the party split by Brexit policy and identitarian infighting, it lost the2019 electiontoBoris Johnson's Conservatives.[15][citation needed]

Since the election ofKeir StarmerasLeader of the Labour Partyin 2020, some in the British media[who?]have noted the ideological shift from the left back to the centre, allowing comparisons to be drawn between the current policy platform of the Labour Party and its Shadow Ministers (some of whom served in the cabinets of Blair and Brown) and that of New Labour.[16]

TheNovember 2021 shadow cabinet reshufflewas seen to be giving more power to Blairites in theParliamentary Labour Party.This was criticised by formerShadow Chancellor of the ExchequerJohn McDonnell.[17]In May 2022, on the 25th anniversary of Labour's landslide victory in the1997 election,Blair in a video looked back at the victory and his achievements and showed his support for Starmer.

The2023 British shadow cabinet reshufflewas seen as giving even more power to Blairites within the Labour Party.[18]

Blairites[edit]

Other than Blair himself, the following prominent Labour politicians are often considered Blairites, but may not identify themselves as such:

Alastair Campbell
Lord Mandelson
Ruth Kelly
David Miliband

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^Ezard, John (4 August 2000)."Blairism, noun: very difficult to define".The Guardian.Retrieved3 March2016.
  2. ^How to bear Blair: become a BlairiteWill Hutton,Guardian Unlimited–Comment is free,21 June 2006
  3. ^Jack the Knife goes for the clearout killKirsty Milne,The Scotsman,28 November 2001
  4. ^Will he? Won't he?Suzie Mackenzie,The Guardian,25 September 2004
  5. ^[1]Nick Cohen,The Guardian,3 October 2010
  6. ^ab"Tony Blair's war on poverty".The Economist.23 September 1999.Retrieved5 November2011.
  7. ^"Blair proud of gay rights record".BBC News. 22 March 2007.
  8. ^"Margaret Thatcher, inspiration to New Labour".The Daily Telegraph.London. 17 April 2008.Retrieved30 June2011.
  9. ^BBC Four,Tory! Tory! Tory!
  10. ^Iain Dale(19 August 2010)."In conversation with... Matthew Parris".Total Politics.Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2013.Retrieved4 November2011.I think he was unhinged. That's the same word Tony Blair used ofMargaret Thatcher.I think Tony Blair was a bit unhinged too. I think Margaret Thatcher had her unhinged moments.
  11. ^Speech to Conservative Election Rally in Plymouth ( "The Mummy Returns" )
  12. ^Tony Blair (2010).A Journey.Random House. p. 101.ISBN978-0-307-37578-0.
  13. ^"Tony Blair: Gordon Brown tried to blackmail me".The Daily Telegraph.1 September 2010.Retrieved30 June2011.
  14. ^Heppell, Timothy (2013). "The Fall of the Brown Government, 2010".How Labour Governments Fall: From Ramsay MacDonald to Gordon Brown.The Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 141–149.ISBN978-1-137-31421-5.
  15. ^"Jeremy Corbyn's Labour manifesto harks back to 1940s | Larry Elliott".The Guardian.21 November 2019.
  16. ^"Keir Starmer is an unconvincing Blairite with an authenticity problem | John Rentoul".The Independent.London. 8 August 2021.
  17. ^John McDonnell [@johnmcdonnellMP] (29 November 2021)."Reviving the careers of former Blairite ministers & simply reappointing existing Shadow Cabinet ministers to new posts does give the impression of Christmas Past not Christmas Future"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  18. ^Chaplain, Chloe (4 September 2023)."Keir Starmer purges soft left and surrounds himself with Blairites for General Election push".inews.co.uk.Retrieved4 September2023.
  19. ^"Alastair Campbell's principles for politics today".The Economist.
  20. ^Nisbet, Robert (30 October 2015)."Ex-Labour Peer Delighted To Head Tory Project".Sky News.Retrieved2 April2016.
  21. ^abcdeAnthony Seldon (4 September 2008).Blair Unbound.Simon and Schuster. p. 334.ISBN978-1-84739-499-6.
  22. ^Morris, Nigel (12 May 2003)."Amos takes post as first black woman in Cabinet".The Independent.London.Retrieved2 April2016.
  23. ^Greer, Germaine (18 May 2003)."The Westminster pack has the scent of its favourite prey again".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved2 April2016.
  24. ^abcd"Where the Blairite loyalties lie".The Daily Telegraph.London. 14 May 2006.Retrieved2 April2016.
  25. ^Peter Dwyer; Sandra Shaw (15 March 2013).An Introduction to Social Policy.SAGE Publications. p. 28.ISBN978-1-4462-8084-3.
  26. ^abcdHennessy, Patrick; Kite, Melissa (6 June 2009)."Revealed: how Cabinet Blairites plotted to topple Brown".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 9 June 2009.Retrieved6 January2010.
  27. ^abHelm, Toby; Hinsliff, Gaby (3 May 2009)."Hazel Blears savages Gordon Brown over 'lamentable' failures".The Guardian.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  28. ^ab"What happened to the Blairites?".BBC News.30 March 2010.Retrieved2 April2016.
  29. ^abCoates, Sam (4 August 2008)."Blairites plot to hasten Gordon Brown's exit".The Times.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  30. ^Sawer, Patrick (14 November 2009)."Stephen Byers: the ultra-Blairite who was a constant thorn in Gordon Brown's side".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 17 November 2009.Retrieved6 January2010.
  31. ^abcPorter, Andrew; Kirkup, James (3 September 2008)."Charles Clarke: Labour heading for 'utter destruction' under Gordon Brown".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 6 September 2008.Retrieved6 January2010.
  32. ^abFeeny, David (9 May 2015)."Labour must return to 'aspirational Blair years', say senior party figures".The Guardian.Retrieved2 April2016.
  33. ^"Ben Bradshaw: Glad to be 'more Wagner than Wenger'".The Independent.London. 27 June 2009.Retrieved2 April2016.
  34. ^"Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw defies Labour whip on economy vote".Western Morning News.14 October 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2015.Retrieved2 April2016.
  35. ^Wilkinson, Michael (24 July 2015)."Andy Burnham aide 'dismissing women' in Labour leadership sexism row".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved2 April2016.
  36. ^Steven Foster (2006).The Judiciary, Civil Liberties and Human Rights.Edinburgh University Press. p. 53.ISBN978-0-7486-2262-7.
  37. ^Thomson, Alice; Sylvester, Rachel (23 May 2009)."Caroline Flint defends Hazel Blears in expenses row".The Times.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  38. ^Waugh, Paul; Cecil, Nicholas (4 June 2009)."Loyalists urge PM to sack Flint amid fears she will quit".Evening Standard.London. Archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2010.Retrieved6 January2010.
  39. ^"Tom Harris".The Telegraph.
  40. ^abMulholland, Hélène (6 January 2010)."Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt call for secret ballot to settle leadership debate".The Guardian.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  41. ^"Blair's reshuffle could bring policy shifts".New Straits Times.30 July 1998.Retrieved2 April2016.
  42. ^Curtis, Polly (10 June 2010)."Margaret Hodge named head of public accounts committee".The Guardian.Retrieved2 April2016.
  43. ^Young, Toby."Well done Tristram Hunt. Chalk one up for the Hons!".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2013.Retrieved2 April2016.
  44. ^Wintour, Patrick (14 September 2011)."Labour party maps out a purple path to power".The Guardian.London.
  45. ^"Owen Smith wants Labour to remember its Blairite heritage".16 September 2016.
  46. ^abGrice, Andrew (29 June 2007)."Andrew Grice: We are all Brownites now, say the Blairites with relief".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 20 May 2008.Retrieved6 January2010.
  47. ^Assinder, Nick (19 March 2007)."Blair and Brown look to future".BBC News.Retrieved2 April2016.
  48. ^Ballinger, Alex (2 July 2017)."Bristol's newest MP just revealed his political hero, and it's controversial".Bristol Post.Retrieved15 March2019.
  49. ^Andrew Rawnsley (30 September 2010).The End of the Party.Penguin Books Limited. p. 457.ISBN978-0-14-196970-1.
  50. ^Kennedy, Siobhan (25 September 2008)."Ruth Kelly: chequered career of the Blairite star who fell to earth".The Times.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  51. ^Leftly, Mark (16 May 2015)."Sadiq Khan wins Blairite Baroness Oona King's support in race to be London mayor".The Independent.London.Retrieved2 April2016.
  52. ^Barkham, Patrick (13 September 2007)."How Oona got her groove back".The Guardian.Retrieved2 April2016.
  53. ^Steven Kettell (14 May 2006).Dirty Politics?: New Labour, British Democracy and the War in Iraq.Zed Books. p. 167.ISBN978-1-84277-741-1.
  54. ^Kristina Riegert (2007).Politicotainment: Television's Take on the Real.Peter Lang. p. 44.ISBN978-0-8204-8114-2.
  55. ^Oona King (18 February 2013).House Music: The Oona King Diaries.A&C Black. p. 238.ISBN978-1-4088-3728-3.
  56. ^abRichards, Steve(18 October 1999)."The Blairites reign supreme".New Statesman.Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2011.Retrieved6 January2010.
  57. ^abDaley, Janet (11 January 2009)."Return of the Blairites spells trouble for David Cameron".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved6 January2010.
  58. ^abRoutledge, Paul (13 November 2009)."Pompous Blairites like David Miliband and Peter Mandelson make me cringe".Daily Mirror.Retrieved6 January2010.
  59. ^"Is Wes Streeting the next Labour leader?".New Statesman.25 January 2022.
  60. ^"Estelle Morris: classroom to cabinet".BBC News. 8 June 2001.
  61. ^Hencke, David (4 June 2009)."Which cabinet ministers are supporting Gordon Brown?".The Guardian.London.
  62. ^Morris, Nigel (29 June 2007)."First woman at the Home Office: Jacqui Smith".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2008.Retrieved6 January2010.A more fluid approach is needed.
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