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New labour implies a continuation of the neo-liberal restructuring of the British economic political model under the Conservatives. ...
The Conservatives under the Thatcher administration had evolved a broad hegemonic basis for its authority, deep philosophical foundations as well as an effective popular strategy known as neo-liberalism. Grounded in a radical remodelling of state and economy this was the effect this neo-liberal strategy brought upon the British socio-economic structure. Thatcherism broke the ground for neo-liberalism by its extensive micro-economic strategies, which rather than control demand by state intervention, a strategy used by the previous labour government. ... As a result the general view is that major changes made by Thatcher are unlikely to be reversed, for opposition to privatisation has proved ineffective, proving just how successful neo-liberalism has been able to define viable policy options. Therefore this explains why New labour by 1997, had not only indicated its preparedness to live with privatisation but a willingness to embrace it when in government. Therefore does this imply that new labour simply carried on from where the conservatives left off? ... For whilst some such as David Marquaud observe ‘ The New Right still hold the ideological field on all the important plain of the political economy, the relationship between the state and market, between collective provision and individual spending: new labour has still not offered a comprehensive challenge to the New right’s world view’. Others such as hutton(1999) argue that ‘New labour coalition spans soft socialism and liberalism, encompasses big business and moderate unionism and is intellectually championed by the Adam Smith Institute as much as the IPPR’. In context of these views, we are now faced with the question is new Labour simply a continuation of the neo-liberal restructuring of the economic political model under the conservatives?
Consolidated Thatcherism combined a distinctive ‘Two Nations’ authoritarian populist hegemonic project, a centralizing ‘strong state’ and a neo-liberal accumulation strategy. Thatcher’s neo-liberal strategy is consolidated by six main principle elements and these comprised of liberalization, Deregulation, Privatisation, re-commodification, Internationalisation and reduced direct taxes. These strategies cumulatively led to such policies as the privatisation of a lot of public assets such as British telecom, low inflation policies to benefit finance, which then had and still has a strong privilege over industry, deregulation of national financial markets and the labour market, and the minimal role of the state in the economy. These re-inforcing neo-liberal policies formed the micro-economic basis of its supply-side strategy as the complement to Thatcherism macroeconomic counter inflationary strategy based on monetary and financial restraint. Therefore it is on this basis that one is then inclined to ask the question, Does this not suggest there is not anything significantly new about the New labour strategy? ... New labour is itself positive proof of the ideological transformations Thatcherism wrought in British politics? Critics consider the New labour economic policy evidence of a neo-liberal ascendancy and the sign of a new cross party political settlement engineered by Labour. It can also be argued that Thatcherism as an ‘actually existing political approach’ came over time to displace other alternatives, as opposed interests, most notably the Labour party, who recognised that an articulated alternative to the Thatcherite phenomenon would have to be worked out within the paradigm it had established.
Approximate Word count = 2600
Approximate Pages = 10.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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