The Rise of New Labour: Party Policies and Voter Choices

Contents......Page 8
List of Figures......Page 10
List of Tables......Page 11
List of Abbreviations......Page 14
1. Introduction......Page 16
2. Social Change and the Future of the Left......Page 25
The Decline of Labour's Social Base......Page 28
Room for Class Politics?......Page 33
Increasing Disadvantage and Insecurity?......Page 35
Room for Socialism?......Page 40
Conclusions......Page 43
Appendix 2.1. The Construction of the Measure of Social Group......Page 44
3. The Electoral Success of Thatcherism......Page 46
Inflation and Unemployment......Page 50
Trade Union Legislation......Page 53
Privatization......Page 56
Tax Cuts and Government Spending......Page 59
Taxes and Spending 1992–1997......Page 63
Conclusions......Page 68
Appendix 3.1. Supplementary Tables......Page 69
Appendix 3.2. Logistic Regression of Credit, Blame, and Vote-Switching......Page 70
4. Margaret Thatcher's Nationalism......Page 73
Defence......Page 77
Devolution for Scotland and Wales......Page 79
Europe......Page 83
The Referendum Party......Page 88
Conclusions......Page 90
Appendix 4.2. Changing Ideological Dimensions in the British Electorate......Page 93
5. Old Labour and the Social Democratic Party......Page 97
Labour's Ideological Appeal in 1983......Page 100
The SDP and the Alliance......Page 103
The Social Bases of Centre-Left Voters......Page 107
Conclusions......Page 111
Appendix 5.1. Measuring the Relative Importance of Issues......Page 112
Appendix 5.2. Multivariate Analysis of Social Group, Ideology, and Support for Labour......Page 114
6. Labour's Long Road Back......Page 116
The Economic Issues......Page 121
The Non-Economic Issues......Page 125
The Squeeze on the Liberal Democrats......Page 128
Conclusions......Page 135
Appendix 6.1. Supplementary Tables......Page 136
7. The Changing Social Basis of Party Support......Page 137
The Parties'Appeal to Different Social Groups......Page 139
The Conservatives and Essex Man......Page 143
John Major's Conservatives and the Growth of Middle-Class Insecurity......Page 147
Labour Support among the Two Lefts, 1979–1983......Page 149
Neil Kinnock and the Party Review......Page 151
Tony Blair and New Labour......Page 152
The Centre Parties......Page 154
Conclusions......Page 156
Appendix 7.1. Supplementary Tables......Page 157
Appendix 7.2. Multivariate Analysis of the Social Basis of Vote, 1979–1997......Page 158
8. Were Traditional Labour Voters Disillusioned with New Labour?......Page 162
Conclusions......Page 170
9. Party Policies and Voter Choices......Page 171
Appendix. The British Election Surveys, 1979–1997......Page 182
References......Page 186
E......Page 194
K......Page 195
P......Page 196
U......Page 197
W......Page 198