Describing New Labour As A 'Warmed Up' Version Of Thatcherism

Describing New Labour as a ‘warmed up’ version of Thatcherism is a paradoxical statement in that it contains both a great deal of truth and falsehood. It is certainly true that New Labour accepted, and in some cases developed, Thatcherite ideals - namely deregulation of the economy, privatisation and limiting the powers of trade unions. It is also true that the New Labour style of government was deeply Thatcher-esk in its reliance on big business/media support, continuing the ‘presidential’ system of ruling and doing little to reverse the centralisation of power that occurred under the Tories. To the statements merit it acknowledges evidence to the contrary by describing the Labour governments of 1997-2010 as ‘warmed up Thatcherism’ (as opposed
In describing Thatcher’s economic record as making British industry ‘more competitive’ he makes an important distinction; New Labour accepted the neoliberal economic measure of success, GDP growth⍖, largely abandoning the traditional democratic socialist view of economic success – growing equality. The United Kingdom’s GDP rose every quarter during Blair’s term in office; inequality measured by the Gini coefficient rose during Blair’s tenure as PM and hit it’s peak just a few months into Gordon Brown’s premiership. Such an economic legacy is typical of a neo-liberal/Thatcherite government during boom years (it parallels Ronald Reagan’s record in the 1980s). Furthermore, New Labour did nothing to reverse the sweeping privatisations that occurred from ‘79-97, even completing the selling of the railways, making them Thatcherite in their inaction if nothing else. It was Thatcher who deregulated the London Stock Exchange in 1986, the so called Big Bang, and under New Labour only a limited regulatory body [Financial Service Authority] was introduced - later described by Gordon Brown as a ‘big mistake’ for its ineffectiveness. Both M.T and Blair/Brown sought market based reforms, shying away from public spending wherever possible - even when New Labour followed through on traditional Labour policy, such as the injection of funds into the NHS. This was mainly done with the Conservative/Thatcherite toolkit, namely the PFI [Private Finance Initiative], a product of John Major’s spell in Number 10; during the New Labour period the PFI accounted for a staggering 75% of the funds for new hospitals. Much in the way that Clement Attlee’s government of ‘45-51 set the economic fundamentals for the Conservative governments to follow, by describing Thatcher’s