Labour's 1997 victory was widely credited to the party's reinvention of itself as New Labour. This book argues that the transformation of the Labour Party is best understood as the product of Thatcherism, and marks the emergence of a new consensus in British politics. Despite Labour's claim to be re-applying traditional values, Tony Blair's politics owe more to neo liberalism than any traditional social democratic perspective. This wide ranging and controversial assessment of both Thatcherism and New Labour is used to illustrate a new theory as to how the process of political change takes place in practice.

On 27 February 1900, the Labour Representation Committee was formed to campaign for the election of working class representatives to parliament. One hundred years on Labour is in government with an overwhelming majority. This book is a unique opportunity both to celebrate and assess critically the Labour Party's role in shaping events of the twentieth century. It brings together academics from a variety of disciplines to examine the history of the Party's development. Each chapter includes contributions in the form of commentary and analysis from former Labour leaders, cabinet ministers and backbench MPs. Contributors include: Michael Foot, Denis Healey, David Owen, Keith Laybourn, Robert Taylor, Steve Ludlam, Nick Ellison, Clare Short and Austin Mitchell, among others.

Labour's 1997 victory was widely credited to the party's reinvention of itself as New Labour. Richard Heffernan argues that the transformation of the Labour Party is best understood as the product of Thatcherism, and marks the emergence of a new consensus in British politics. Despite Labour's claim to be reapplying traditional values, Tony Blair's politics owe more to neo-liberalism than any traditional social democratic perspective. This wide-ranging and controversial assessment of both Thatcherism and New Labour is used to illustrate a new theory as to how the process of political change takes place in practice.