The Blair Effect, 2001-5

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Notes on Contributors......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
Part I Politics and government......Page 15
1 The Blair premiership......Page 17
Party......Page 19
Parliament......Page 21
Cabinet......Page 22
The centre......Page 25
The curse of abroad......Page 28
Strategy......Page 29
The misleading presidential analogy......Page 30
The public......Page 31
Conclusion......Page 32
I want to hold your hand......Page 34
Backbenchers get stuck in......Page 36
Modernisation......Page 41
Other Commons reforms......Page 47
Lords reform, or how not to do it......Page 48
Their lordships get stuck in......Page 52
Conclusion......Page 54
3 Elections and public opinion......Page 57
Tony Blair’s electoral success in historic perspective......Page 58
Trends in public opinion......Page 62
By-elections, local and regional elections, and European elections......Page 64
Social and partisan cues......Page 69
Straddling the centre ground......Page 70
The performance of the Labour government......Page 71
Blair’s appeal......Page 72
The electoral system......Page 76
Conclusions and discussion......Page 78
4 Local and central government......Page 82
The development of ‘new localism’......Page 83
From New Localism to community governance......Page 88
Targets, inspectors and regulators......Page 91
The ‘Balance of Funding’ issue......Page 92
Leadership in the cities......Page 97
Nations and regions......Page 99
Whitehall and the core of central government......Page 104
Conclusion......Page 105
5 Media management......Page 108
News management in Blair’s first term, 1997–2001......Page 109
Campbell, the BBC and the Iraq war......Page 112
The Hutton Inquiry......Page 117
Clearing out the stables after Campbell......Page 120
Conclusion: the end of ‘spin’?......Page 124
Membership......Page 126
Structures......Page 128
Trade unions and finance......Page 131
The politics of the Labour Party......Page 132
The Labour Party in the party system......Page 136
Labour and the Conservatives......Page 137
Conclusion......Page 142
How far was Blair responsible for the Conservatives’ plight?......Page 145
Lessons unlearnt, 2001–5......Page 150
2005 campaign......Page 157
Electoral impact, 2001–5......Page 163
Conclusion: the Conservatives’ effect and the Blair effect......Page 169
Part II Economic and social policy......Page 171
8 The Treasury and economic policy......Page 173
Safe with the Bank of England......Page 174
From fighting inflation to preserving growth......Page 176
Staying out of the euro......Page 178
The five-tests assessment......Page 180
Fundamentally sceptical?......Page 181
Prudent for a purpose......Page 183
Tax and spend......Page 184
No longer so prudent......Page 186
Competition and productivity......Page 189
Squandering a golden legacy?......Page 191
Wasted years......Page 193
The making of the British Business Model......Page 198
Britain’s labour market – an audit of success and failure......Page 210
The Blair effect and the British Business Model – an assessment......Page 218
The importance of transport to the electorate......Page 221
The 1998 Transport White Paper......Page 222
The fuel price crisis......Page 224
The withdrawal of Prescott from transport policy\rand the death of the Ten Year Plan......Page 225
Indecision: the railways......Page 226
Blair versus Brown, devolution versus centralisation: the PPP\rfor the London Underground......Page 230
Further indecision over London devolution: Livingstone\rand congestion charging......Page 240
Blair’s personal interventions......Page 241
Blair’s growing interest in transport......Page 242
Conclusion......Page 244
Background to Blairism......Page 247
Judicial imperiousness......Page 248
Bringing rights home......Page 252
The UK Supreme Court......Page 255
Judges as legislators......Page 260
Judges acting extra-curricularly......Page 261
Blunkett’s blunderbusses......Page 264
The Iraq invasion......Page 266
A balanced Blair......Page 268
12 Education......Page 270
A-levels......Page 272
Resignation......Page 274
Top-up fees......Page 276
Teachers......Page 279
The Tomlinson Working Group on 14–19 Reform......Page 281
Diversity and choice......Page 283
Funding......Page 286
Brown’s interventions......Page 288
News management......Page 290
The government’s role......Page 291
Tony Blair’s education legacy......Page 293
13 The health and welfare legacy......Page 297
Health care spending......Page 298
Choice and competition......Page 301
Health inequalities......Page 304
Waiting lists and waiting times......Page 308
Cost-effective treatment......Page 309
Cancer......Page 310
Coronary heart disease......Page 311
Mental health......Page 312
Community care......Page 315
Real achievement?......Page 316
14 Equality and social justice......Page 320
Poverty......Page 326
Pensioners......Page 330
Working-age households without children......Page 333
Life chances......Page 335
The early years strategy......Page 336
Education......Page 337
Health......Page 339
Income inequality......Page 341
Social justice with borders: asylum seekers under Blair......Page 345
Choice, competition and social justice......Page 346
Blair’s legacy: a more equal society?......Page 348
Part III Wider relations......Page 351
Introduction: four more years of path-dependent devolution......Page 353
Scotland above and below the surface......Page 361
Wales above and below the surface......Page 364
Northern Ireland: domestic politics under the radar......Page 366
Divergence in education and health......Page 367
The Barnett Formula limps on......Page 370
The Prescott and Brown agendas in the 2001 Parliament......Page 372
Conclusion......Page 373
16 Europe......Page 376
Early ambiguities......Page 377
Treasury scepticism......Page 379
Whitehall reshuffle......Page 380
Transatlantic strains......Page 381
Revival of the Franco-German alliance......Page 383
Blair’s isolation......Page 385
Euro assessment......Page 386
The Constitutional Convention......Page 387
The record since 1997......Page 390
Eurosceptism still strong......Page 393
Conclusions......Page 396
17 Putting the world to rights: Tony Blair’s foreign policy mission......Page 398
The Blair view of foreign policy......Page 399
The lull before the storm......Page 401
The world changes......Page 402
The ‘war on terror’......Page 404
Afghanistan: the habit of victory......Page 407
Iraq: the defining event......Page 409
In perspective......Page 421
18 The second Blair government: the verdict......Page 424
Commentary\rThe meaning of the Third Way......Page 444
The Third Way as an electoral strategy......Page 445
The Third Way as a new politics......Page 447
The Third Way as a policy agenda......Page 448
Conclusion......Page 451
Commentary\rThe reinvention of Blair......Page 453
Commentary\rForeign policy......Page 459
Bibliography......Page 467
Index......Page 481