Era of New Labour: Social Issues (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Workers, Women and Youth
New Labour's approach to social policy between 1997 and 2007 transformed the relationship between government and different groups in society. The party sought to modernise Britain whilst managing tensions between its traditional working-class base and its new pro-business direction. This period saw substantial shifts in how workers, women, and young people experienced government policy.
New Labour and workers
The changing relationship with trade unions
Labour had historically positioned itself as the party representing workers' interests. When the party won power in 1997, many expected a return to the close relationship between government and trade unions that had characterised earlier Labour administrations. However, this expectation proved mistaken. The decline of trade unions, which had accelerated during the 1980s under Conservative governments, continued under New Labour.
Union membership as a proportion of the workforce fell from 29 per cent to 26 per cent between 1997 and 2007, though the rate of decline slowed compared to previous decades.
New Labour did not repeal trade union legislation passed by Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997. This legislation had substantially reduced union power, limiting the influence that unions had previously exercised over the Labour Party through mechanisms such as the block vote.
The government openly criticised strike action by trade unions, which was not surprising given that Labour's links with the trade union movement and memories of the 'winter of discontent' remained one of the reasons that it had not been electable in the 1980s. New Labour preferred to emphasise its pro-business approach rather than its historical connection to organised labour.
Continued privatisation and outsourcing
Some trade unions became extremely critical of the Labour government for continuing policies such as outsourcing and Private Finance Initiative (PFI), which had been introduced by the Conservative Party in the 1980s and 1990s. Although the Labour government protected the employment rights of workers who moved from the public to the private sector through these arrangements, they allowed contracting out to continue.
The government not only refused to reverse the privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s, it extended them. The Air Traffic Control organisation was sold off; London Underground moved to a public-private partnership; discussions even took place about selling off Royal Mail, which Major had not dared to do. Many trade unions were dismayed by these developments.
By 2004, the RMT, the Transport Workers' Union, had been expelled from the party because some of its local branches had decided to donate to other, more left-wing, political parties.
Tony Blair's 2004 speech to the Trades Union Congress
Tony Blair addressed the Trades Union Congress in September 2004, following the Labour Party and many trade unions coming to the Warwick Agreement which set out agreed priorities for the 2005 Labour Party manifesto. In his speech, Blair acknowledged the concerns of working families but refused to return to traditional union demands.
Blair's TUC Speech (2004): Key Messages
Blair stated: "As ever, before the TUC speech, I'm not short of advice. The difference this year is that I agree with it. All have told me not to lose touch with the concerns of the hard-working families it's our and my duty to represent."
He went on to advocate "social partnership not old-style confrontation" and emphasised that "my priority is and always will be the quality of life of Britain's hard-working families, who struggle with the modern burden of work and family life, and don't ask for or expect miracles just a fair chance to make the most of life for them and their children."
Blair referenced his 1990 Employment spokesman speech, noting that Labour had delivered on promises including introducing a minimum wage, legal right to union recognition, signing the social charter, improving maternity leave, introducing paid holidays, ending blacklisting, and removing the power of automatic dismissal for those lawfully on strike.
The European Social Chapter and employment rights
The Labour government opted back into the European Social Chapter, which John Major had negotiated an opt-out from in the Maastricht Treaty. This meant that Britain now had to follow European policies regarding employment and social rights.
All employees were now entitled to request up to three months unpaid parental leave to care for a child who was under the age of eight years old. Nevertheless, the Labour government retained its ability to opt out of some employment legislation, for example maximum working hours.
Globalisation and the knowledge economy
Globalisation refers to the process by which the world was increasingly economically and culturally inter-connected; it was accelerated from the 1990s by the development of the internet and better transportation.
The Labour government welcomed globalisation as an opportunity for economic growth. It argued that Britain had to learn to better compete in the new globalised world economy by increasing the skills of its workers. This would allow Britain to develop a 'knowledge economy' that would add value with more efficient systems and processes, often utilising new technologies. This new efficiency would increase productivity.
The New Deal programme
Although there was not an explicit commitment to full employment, there was an emphasis on supporting people into work. Blair expressed this as 'work for those who can, security for those that can't'.
The New Deal programme targeted particular groups of the unemployed – young people, older workers, the disabled, lone parents – and promised support to help them find work. This might be training or guidance, work in the voluntary sector to gain experience, or a subsidised job placement.
Critics argued that the support was often limited and complained that the sanctions imposed if people did not take up the support were unfair and counter-productive.
National Minimum Wage
In 1998 the Labour government introduced the National Minimum Wage. A Low Pay Commission was set up to oversee and set the wage, though initially it was set at an extremely low rate. In addition, Brown introduced tax credits, which were means-tested benefits paid to people with low incomes, with specific elements targeted at, for example, those with children or with a disability.
Women's experiences under New Labour
Women in Parliament
In 1997 the number of women elected as MPs rose to 120, double the previous number. Of these MPs, 101 were Labour MPs. Labour had introduced all-women shortlists to half of what it considered its most winnable seats in a deliberate attempt to try and increase the number of women in Parliament.
Blair also appointed women to prominent positions in his cabinet including Margaret Beckett as foreign secretary (2006–07), the first woman to serve in this role.
Margaret Beckett (b. 1943) has been the Labour MP for Derby South since 1983. She was the deputy leader of the Labour Party under John Smith and briefly led the party after his death, before Blair's election.
Childcare and family support
Women were often the main beneficiaries of New Labour's policies. Childcare provision was extended significantly throughout this period.
By 2007 all 3- and 4-year-olds were entitled to 12.5 hours a week of free nursery education which was to rise to 15 hours by 2010. Similarly, women were given pension credits when unable to work because of caring responsibilities.
Women in business
Women were also making progress, albeit slow, in the board room. Between 1999 and 2007, the percentage of FTSE 100 companies that had no women on the board fell from 36 per cent to 24 per cent.
FTSE 100 refers to a list of the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange.
Ongoing challenges: pay gap and unpaid work
Persistent Inequality Issues
Critics argued that there was limited progress on other issues such as the pay gap, with women still only earning 87 per cent of what men did in 2007. Critics also argued that New Labour's emphasis on paid employment undervalued the unpaid work in the home and with the family which women did; one report found that, by 2007, when couples were compared, women still did three times the amount of housework as men.
Youth policy under New Labour
Blair's youthful image
There was a great deal of focus on youth by the New Labour government. The government itself was seen as a youthful alternative to the Conservatives. Tony Blair was the youngest prime minister to have been elected. He had three school-age children, and a fourth was born in 2000. This was an image which was emphasised.
Not long after the election victory in 1997, Blair hosted a celebrity party at 10 Downing Street; attendees included Noel Gallagher from the band Oasis, the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who had risen to notoriety during the punk era of the 1970s, and the actress Helen Mirren.
Tackling social exclusion
A concentration on issues that affected young people also complemented New Labour priorities. A central objective was to end social exclusion and the Social Exclusion Unit was set up in 1997 to coordinate this effort.
Social exclusion is a term for problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdowns that affect individuals or local areas.
Sure Start centres
The aim to end social exclusion led to the establishment of Sure Start centres. These centres aimed to help families with children by providing guidance and information and ensure that preschool children were supported to be ready for school.
In addition Blair, in 1999, pledged to end child poverty in 20 years, and through policies like child tax credit had brought it down by a quarter by 2005.
Connexions and university access
Similarly, the Connexions service was created to advise teenagers about the choices they had when they left school. New Labour also aimed for 50 per cent of young people to go to university, believing that this would produce the highly skilled workforce needed to compete in the globalised world economy.
Youth crime and ASBOs
However, there were also concerns about youth issues. Despite the New Deal for Young People, the number of NEETs had increased to almost 20 per cent by 2007.
NEETs refers to 16–24-year-olds Not in Education, Employment or Training.
And it was partly fears over youth crime that led to the introduction of the Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO). An ASBO was a court order which would put limits on what the defendant could do. For example, it could impose a curfew or ban someone from going to a particular estate or shopping centre. Breaking an ASBO was a criminal offence.
ASBOs aimed to prevent antisocial behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, or intimidation. These were not solely aimed at young people although they became the main recipients: by 2005 46 per cent of ASBOs went to under-17-year-olds.
Key Points to Remember:
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New Labour distanced itself from trade unions, refusing to repeal Conservative union legislation and openly criticising strikes whilst continuing privatisation policies including PFI and outsourcing.
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Women benefited from extended childcare provision (12.5 hours free nursery education for 3-4 year-olds by 2007) and increased parliamentary representation (120 female MPs in 1997, double the previous number), but the pay gap remained substantial with women earning 87 per cent of men's wages.
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The New Deal programme emphasised 'work for those who can, security for those that can't', targeting specific unemployed groups with training and job placement support, complemented by the National Minimum Wage (1998) and tax credits.
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Youth policy focused on ending social exclusion through Sure Start centres, Connexions service, and a pledge to reduce child poverty by a quarter by 2005, whilst also addressing concerns about NEETs and antisocial behaviour through ASBOs.
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Globalisation shaped Labour's approach to workers, with emphasis on developing a 'knowledge economy' through increased skills and productivity rather than supporting traditional trade union demands.