After consecutive electoral defeats in the late 1900s during the era of Thatcherism, the Labour Party sought to distance themselves from its more radical past, leading to the rise of New Labour. Led by Tony Blair (and later Gordon Brown), they represented a departure from traditional socialist values, embracing a more “centrist” and neoliberal approach to policy-making. This starkly contrasts to their previous goal, highlighted in clause 4 of the party’s original constitution, of devoting the party to achieving socialism through a framework of democracy.
When Tony Blair came into power of the Labour Party, one of the first things he did was organise a rewriting of the constitution, removing clause 4. The Party would now no longer be devoted to achieving socialism, but social democracy - market capitalism with a strong social safety net. They stopped focusing on reform of the system, stopped talking about wage slavery, surplus value, and capitalism, and instead focused on policies within the free market to do with education, employment, the NHS and crime. Eventually, they won their first general election in decades as a landslide win.
This led to a bunch of new reforms in Britain, including minimum wage, enshrining human rights into law, devolution (more democratic decision making, giving more power to the separate countries in the UK), 24 days paid vacation for all workers, operational independence to the Bank of England (economic decisions like interest rate changes would now be independent of political interference, increasing credibility), discrimination protection and increased rights for LGBT people, expanding university access, etc. The NHS and education budgets were also massively increased. Overall, these reforms managed to lift many out of poverty and helped build a strong middle class in the country - one of the key things needed to sustain an economy.
Internationally the UK played a significant role in NATO's campaign to halt ethnic cleansing of the Albanian minority and restore stability in Kosovo. They intervened in Sierra Leone, in an attempt to end conflict and protect civilians. Furthermore they remained supportive of European integration, engaging with the EU.
However, in 2003, the UK, led by New Labour, joined the US led Iraq War. The UK attempted to justify this decision based on concerns about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (with this intelligence later proved to be inaccurate). This decision strained international relationships, with civilians and other countries questioning the UK's foreign policy, leading to widespread domestic protests, and eroding public trust in the government (fucking over their next election a little, but still just about winning a sizeable majority). The Iraq War's ramifications lingered long after the conflict's end, contributing to internal divisions within the Labour Party.
Furthermore, many on the left accused Blair's government of betraying traditional Labour values by embracing neoliberal economic policies. During their power, income inequality increased (though this had already been increased massively through Margaret Thatcher’s reforms and would have probably increased even more if the Conservative Party remained in power) and the expansion of the private sector in healthcare and education were clear signs that New Labour had abandoned its roots of social justice. They also began to pass seemingly more authoritarian or frankly ridiculous laws, eg. to detain anyone without trial for 28 days, the criminalisation of sending “offensive” or “indecent” or “obscene” messages on the internet, or the criminalisation of telling someone you closed the door of a ship when you didn’t.
Then the 2007-2008 financial crisis happened which was an issue for the party that had previously relied on the country’s strong economy and therefore high government spending. They controversially paid out £137 billion to support the banks, nationalising some of them in the process, preventing the UK’s financial sector and arguably economy from completely collapsing. Instead of changing or fixing the system, they decided to support the clearly problematic system and further provide a safety net, showing to the banks that theoretically they could continue their unethical profit motivated behavior (that contributed to the financial crisis), and know that even if they fuck people over, the government still have their back. Furthermore, this spending led the UK into massive debt and so led to an era of austerity led by the Conservatives (freezing public sector pay, reducing public investment), which arguably contributed to heightened inequality and the current floundering state of the British economy.
At this point (post financial crisis), the Labour Party was struggling, with diminishing public support, leading to their failure to win their next election, leading to the Liberal Democrat & Conservative coalition party. Jeremy Corbyn, who opposed the leaving behind of traditional socialist values and goals by New Labour, would eventually become the leader of the party, signalling a new page for the party.
New Labour's emergence as a dominant political force in Britain marked a seismic shift in the nation's political landscape. While they achieved remarkable electoral success, New Labour was not without controversy and criticism, revealing the complex nature of political change and ideological evolution. However, their legacy still remains, and parallels can be drawn between the party’s current leader, Starmer, who seems ready to start a new “New Labour”-esque era.