The New Social Democracy

Since the election of Tony Blair to the leadership of the Labour party in 1997 and the party′s subsequent electoral triumph in 1997 after eighteen years in opposition there has been intense speculation about what the Labour party now stands for. Does the party still have a clear set of values and beliefs which guide it in government? Can it still be described as a social democratic party? Recently Tony Blair has called his political approach a Third Way between new Right and old Labour. The essays in this book by leading authorities on social democracy and the politics of new Labour ask whether new Labour is a complete break with the Labour past and with European social democracy, or whether it should be seen as a powerful restatement of social democratic ideas in a new context.

1. Introduction: The New Social Democracy: Tony Wright and Andrew Gamble (University of Sheffield and Labour MP for Cannock Chase).

2. Premature Obsequies: Social Democracy Comes in From the Cold: David Marquand (Mansfield College, Oxford).

3. European Social Democracy and New Labour: Unity in Diversity?: Donald Sassoon (QMC).

4. European Social Democracy: Convergence, Divisions, and Shared Questions: Frank Vandenbroucke (Nuffield College, Oxford).

5. Ownership and Social Democracy: Gerry Holtham.

6. The Parabola of Working Class Politics:Colin Crouch (European University Institute, Florence).

7. Globalisation and Social Democracy: Paul Hirst (Birkbeck College, University of London).

8. New Keynesianism and New Labour: Will Hutton (The Observer).

9. A Response to Will Hutton: Ruth Kelly (Labour MP for Bolton West).

10. Environmental Democracy: Michael Jacobs (The Fabian Society).

11. The Helmsman and the Cattle Prod: Anna Coote (King′s Fund, London).

12.Social Democracy in a Small Country: Political Leadership or Management Consultancy?: James McCormick and Graham Leicester (Scottish Council Foundation).

13. New Approaches to the Welfare State: Julian Le Grand (London School of Economics and Political Science).

14. True Blood or False Genealogy?New Labour and British Social Democratic Thought: Michael Freeden (Mansfield College, Oxford).

15. Rights and Responsibilities: A Social Democratic Perspective: Stuart White (MIT).

Tony Wright is MP for Cannock Chase and joint editor of The Political Quarterly.

Andrew Gamble is Director of the Political Economy Research Centre joint editor of The Political Quarterly. Previous books include Hayek: The Iron Cage of Liberty and The Free Economy and the Strong State.

"In The New Social Democracy, Andrew Gamble and Tony Wright have assembled a diverse and informative collection of essays covering current debates about the state of progressive ideas in the United Kingdom. In a useful introduction, the editors note the flexibility of social democratic organisations, the capacity of reformists to reforge their ideas, and the current electoral strength of left–wing parties." Mark Wickham–Jones, Times Literary Supplement