Justifying New Labour Policy

An original combination of theoretical innovation and a detailed empirical analysis of the ideas, language and policy of New Labour. Politicians often appeal to moral principles and arguments in their efforts to win support for new policy programmes. Yet the question of how politicians use moral language has until now been neglected by scholars.

The New Labour Reader draws together in one accessible volume a set of authoritative interpretations and accounts of New Labour in government, including key commentaries on the contemporary Labour Party and the Blair government. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, the book maps out and explains New Labour's political trajectory, the policy agenda it has pursued and the process by which it governs. It uses excerpts from the best and most interesting material, including the writings and speeches of the Labour government's most influential figures. There are chapters on the New Labour debate, economic policy, the public services, constitutional reform, European policy and Labour's Whitehall style, as well as a critical introduction by the editors. This Reader will provide an initial point of access to the varied literature on this subject and prove an essential reference for understanding the wide-ranging implications of the New Labour 'project'. Since British politics is a core option on all undergraduate politics courses, it will be a vital resource for all who study the subject. Visit www.polity.co.uk/newlabour for articles and updates which support the book.

New Labour have set themselves up to specifically address women's issues and attract women voters, but how successful have they been? This book offers an analysis of New Labour's politics and policies from a gendered perspective.

The rhetoric of New Labour has captured the centre ground of British politics and now frames the policymaking agenda of all mainstream political parties. In linking this rhetoric to the impact of key New Labour policies on everyday life, this interdisciplinary and original book provides a timely focus on the language of contemporary political debate that assesses its practical effects and potential limitations. The chapters are written by specialist contributors from linguistics, law, education, health, sociology and politics who examine the ways in which the New Labour discourse of social justice has played out in their policy area. Many draw on original empirical research, including interviews, and the book’s combination of micro and macro level analyses supports incisive and original thinking ‘outside the box’ of orthodox political thought. The contributors differ in their assessment of New Labour policies. Taken together, however, their chapters reveal serious problems with New Labour’s rhetoric of social justice and its associated language of citizen workers, choice, opportunity, responsibility and empowerment.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

On 12 May 1997, the foreign secretary, Robin Cook, launched a mission statement for New Labour's foreign policy. This essay asks whether New Labour have re-orientated the path of foreign policy from that established by the Conservatives.

This book shows that the discourse of the Labour party 1994-2007, revolving around three key concepts of identity, narrative and metaphor, not only reflected new Labour's policy and organisational changes, but that it was also an essential part of its successful strategies of renovation and of power legitimation.

There is growing interest in trying to understand and rethink the goals of labour law in light of changing realities in the labour market and regulation. Responding to such fundamental questions as: What is labour law for? How can it be justified? And on what should reforms be based? This book challenges the way we think about labour law.