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Brownism

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This article is about politics of the British Labour Party. For the attitudes of English church reformer Robert Browne, seeBrownist.

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InBritish politics,Brownismis thesocial democraticpolitical ideology of the formerPrime Ministerand leader of theLabour PartyGordon Brownand those that follow him. Proponents of Brownism are referred to asBrownites.

Ideology[edit]

Brownism is understood byAnthony Giddensand others as asocial democraticideology, characterised by its distinction from the ideology ofNew Labourunder Blair, with Brownism generally understood as tolerating less enthusiasm about market driven reforms such as tuition fees and foundation hospitals, more keen on the role of the state,[1]and less critical ofLabour's links to the unions.[2]Compared toBlairism,Brownism places more emphasis on constitutional reform, advancing ideas of a "new constitutional settlement", alongside a "robust concern for redistributive politics" with commitments to reducing poverty and expanding the welfare state;[3][4]Will Huttonopined: "Like Tony Blair [Gordon Brown] is a believer in a pluralist and fair society, social mobility, and marrying economic efficiency with social justice".[5]

Brownism retains much of the economic pragmatism ofNew Labour,characterised by commitments to liberalised markets and "responsible capitalism", with light-touch approaches to financial regulation and tax. Brownite pragmatism was demonstrated during the 2008 Financial Crisis which occurred during thePremiership of Gordon Brown,with the UK Government response comprising the nationalisation of theRoyal Bank of Scotland,Lloyds TSBandNorthern Rock- with both conservative and left-leaning governments worldwide following this approach.[4]Brown described "the values of fairness, stewardship and cooperation" as underpinning this approach to markets, and has criticised the "weaknesses of unbridled free markets".[6]

On foreign policy, Brownism is characterised by "complexity, inter-connectedness, and cooperation", with focuses on improving globally under-developed regions, improving human rights, and globalsocial justice- particularly throughinternational aid.[7][8]Brownism is additionally characterised by significantly greater hesitance towardsliberal interventionismcompared toBlairism,with focuses on foreign policy advanced through cooperation, and hesitance towards conflict. It emphasises "duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep" where conflict does take place, and places greater distance towardsUS foreign policy,while retaining commitments toAtlanticism.[7]

Brownism has been described as lacking an "ideological narrative", something that has been said to have damagedGordon Brown's "credibility asLabourleader ". This has meant that scholars and observers have been able to describe Brownism asneoliberal,while others have described it associal democratic.[4]

Relationship to prior 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".[9]

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.[3]

Brownites[edit]

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

Ed Balls
Harriet Harman
Ed Miliband
Anas Sarwar


See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"The rise and fall of New Labour".New Statesman. 17 May 2010.Retrieved23 July2010.
  2. ^Jones, Nicholas (7 September 2006)."UK | UK Politics | Brownites v Blairites – the full story".BBC News.Retrieved23 July2010.
  3. ^abHeppell, 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.
  4. ^abcBeech, Matt (2009). "A puzzle of ideas and policy: Gordon Brown as prime minister".The Brown Government: A Policy Evaluation(1st ed.). Routledge. pp. 8–13.ISBN9781317966685.
  5. ^Hutton, Will (21 June 2006)."How to beat Blair: become a Blairite | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk".The Guardian.London.Retrieved23 July2010.
  6. ^"Gordon Brown: Economy can emerge stronger".The Telegraph.18 October 2008.Retrieved29 December2023.
  7. ^abDyson, Stephen (1 January 2011). "New Labour, Leadership, and Foreign Policy-making after 1997".British Foreign Policy: The New Labour Years(1 ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 64–65, 76–83.ISBN978-1-349-32763-8.
  8. ^Honeyman, Victoria (1 April 2017)."From liberal interventionism to liberal conservatism: The short road in foreign policy from Blair to Cameron".British Politics.12(1): 42–62.doi:10.1057/bp.2015.46.ISSN1746-9198.
  9. ^"Tony Blair: Gordon Brown tried to blackmail me".The Daily Telegraph.1 September 2010.Retrieved30 June2011.
  10. ^Mulholland, Hélène (28 June 2007)."Profile: Douglas Alexander".The Guardian.Retrieved5 June2024.
  11. ^"Brownites ready to back leader from safe seats".The Herald.25 April 2005.Retrieved5 June2024.
  12. ^abMillie, Andrew, Moral politics, moral decline and anti-social behaviour, People, Place & Policy Online (2010): 4/1, p 7.
  13. ^abc:Life at the Heart of New Labour – Peter Mandelson
  14. ^abnews.yahoo /14/20100825 – cruddas-backs-david-miliband[dead link]
  15. ^"Labour Insiders Say Prioritising Talent Over Loyalty On His Front Bench Could Be Keir Starmer's Undoing".Politics Home.3 December 2021.Retrieved5 June2022.
  16. ^"Business View: Blair necessities put Brownite in the limelight".The Independent.6 May 2006.Retrieved5 June2022.
  17. ^"Labour leader calls on Brown's bruisers".The Herald.8 October 2011.Retrieved5 June2022.
  18. ^White, Michael(6 January 2010)."Ballot call over Gordon Brown's leadership – what next?".The Guardian.Retrieved24 November2012.
  19. ^Carrell, Severin (20 September 2017)."Scottish Labour candidate Anas Sarwar laughs off 'neoliberal Blairite' tag".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved4 January2020.
  20. ^Mark Oliver and agencies (11 May 2007)."Who are the Brownites? | Politics".The Guardian.London.Retrieved24 July2010.
  21. ^"Amid the expenses fury, Aida Edemariam shadows her MP, Emily Thornberry".The Guardian.18 May 2009.Retrieved5 June2022.
  22. ^"Is Charlie Whelan to leave Unite the Union?".Financial Times.
  23. ^"Series of political knocks took toll on loyal Brownite, Tom Watson".The Guardian.2 June 2009.Retrieved5 June2022.
  24. ^"Meet ed Miliband's Consigliere".24 June 2013.
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