Differences Between New Labour And Thatcherism

Thatcherism and New Labour

The two most significant trends in UK politics in recent decades have been Thatcherism and New Labour. How does New Labour differ from Thatcherism, if at all? Or has New Labour to a large degree simply accepted the positions and policies of Thatcherism?

The term Thatcherism is centered around the reform programme of the Conservative party led by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. The heart piece of the programme was the economic reform programme, that favored freedom instead of social insurance, by emphasizing deregulation in the private sector, privatisation of companies and tax reductions and a ‘give to get’ scheme to curb unemployment.

Especially the privatization of companies played a huge role in minimizing the

It needed the introduction of ‘New Labour’ and its political leader Tony Blair, before the Conservatives could be overthrown after more than a decade in 1994.

New Labour was the result of an internal policy review, which was the consequence of multiple defeats. Previously Labour was known for its pro-stance on nationalization and redistribution of wealth as a part of its roots in socialism. But with the initialization of New Labour, the party no longer could no longer reject the reforms by Thatcher, thus policies needed to be revised to reflect these changes. As a result, New Labour was more sympathetic towards businesses, favored market discipline and waived any increase in taxes.

In many ways, it looked like New Labour was copying the manifesto of the Conservatives. I.e. it ditched its commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament, which can be viewed as a continuation of the US-UK relations of the era under Thatcher. Also New Labour was led by Tony Blair, whose father was Conservative MP, thus further implying a more conservative approach to

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