New Labour's Old Roots

    Revisionist Thinkers in Labour's History 1931-1997

    Edited by Patrick Diamond
    Foreword by Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP

    September 2004, 264 pages
    ISBN 0 907845 894 (paperback), $29.90 / £17.95

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    "Patrick Diamond poses a double challenge — that Tony Blair’s
    critics should acknowledge New Labour’s roots in social democratic
    thinking and that his supporters should cherish those roots
    too. The intriguing thing is that neither group will be comfortable
    with what he has to say." — Martin Kettle (The Guardian)

    "The frequent, and deliberate, presentation of New Labour as
    novel phenomenon and a break with the party’s past has always
    been misleading. This skilfully edited collection of extracts shows
    how New Labour stands clearly in the long and rich tradition
    Labour ‘revisionism’, even though its achievements in offi ce
    remain uncertain and unfulfilled." — Peter Riddell (The Times)

    Table of Contents     Foreword Preface
    New Labour was not conjured up out of thin air — it only looks like that because of the party’s amnesia concerning its intellectual development. This book provides extracts from fifteen thinkers located within the revisionist tradition as an antidote to that amnesia. It is an ‘all star cast’ from Labour’s history, from Tawney, Jay and Gaitskell to Gordon Brown.The collection shows that revisionism is not a body of doctrine but a cast of mind that distinguishes between core values (ends) and policy instruments (means) — revisionist thinkers do not shrink from abandoning any policy that fails to deliver the desired ends. In the contentious debates about the future of public services, the Blair government is determined to avoid the confusion of means and ends. These essays show this determination to be deep-rooted in Labour thinking and to be focused on the commitment to equality.

    Patrick Diamond is Special Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street.

    "This book asks a question to which many of us would welcome an answer: 'What are the philosophical roots of new Labour?" In the end, the search has to be declared unsuccessful -- but the fascination of the journey is more than adequate compensation."  Richard Reeves, New Statesman

    Reviews

    "The argument of the book and the evidence of the extracts themselves offer an effective riposte to those who claim that New Labour represents an irrevocable break with social democratic thought. The book shows that the debate between modernisers and traditionalists within the party has been a recurrent theme in Labour’s history, and is not confined to its recent past."  Progress

    "On one level, Diamond's assertion of the seriousness of New Labour's ideological pedigree is a provocation to those like Roy Hattersley who believe that the Blairites have abandoned social democracy altogether. On a more subtle level, however, the book is also a challenge to the Blairites to be more respectful towards their roots."  The Guardian

    Table of Contents

    Foreword by Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP
    Preface
    Introduction

    1931–45: Laying Revisionist Foundations

    R.H. Tawney — Liberty and Equality (1931)
    Hugh Dalton — Towards Social Equality (1935)
    Evan Durbin — Socialism and Democracy (1940)

    1945–70: Revisionism’s High Tide

    Denis Healey — Power Politics and the Labour Party (1952)
    C.A.R. Crosland — The Meaning of Socialism (1956)
    Hugh Gaitskell — Socialism and Nationalisation (1956)
    Roy Jenkins — Is Britain Civilised? (1959)
    Douglas Jay — Social Justice and Social Purpose (1962)

    1970–83: Revisionism Revised: Disappointment and Defeat

    J.P. Mackintosh — Has Social Democracy Failed in Britain? (1979)
    Evan Luard — Socialism at the Grassroots: Community Socialism (1979)
    David Marquand — The Unprincipled Society (1988)

    1983–97: Revisionism Re-Born: Labour’s Years of Recovery

    Bernard Crick — Socialist Values and Time (1984)
    Roy Hattersley — Choose Equality (1987)
    Giles Radice — Labour’s Path to Power (1989)

    1997: Revisionism Ascendant? New Labour’s Old Roots

    Gordon Brown — Equality:  Then and Now (1997)

    Postscript
    Appendix — CDS Manifesto (1962)
    Bibliography
    Index

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