The 'new' rhetoric of New Labour in comparative perspective: A three-country discourse analysis

West European Politics

Volumn 23, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 26-46

  Jahn, Detlef ^a   Henn, Matt ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD   (Germany)

^b NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON; PARTY POLITICS; POLITICAL SYSTEM;

EID: 0033997044     PISSN: 01402382     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01402380008425350     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. The key study in this field is the Comparative Party Manifestos Project (Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Richard Hofferbert, Ian Budge and Paul Sabatier, Parties, Policies, and Democracy [Boulder, CO: Westview Press 1994]). This project is largely based on only one aspect of the manifesto data, the frequencies of issues. However, in our study we coded not only issues, but also campaign styles, presentation of arguments, addressees, and other aspects of the manifestos and television debates. Moreover, the Comparative Party Manifestos Project measured the relevance of issues using saliency theory, a method which has been much criticised (for example, Herbert Kitschelt, The Transformation of European Social Democracy [Cambridge: CUP 1994] pp.202-203). Therefore, wherever possible we coded all statements in a directional way in order to compare ideological positioning of the parties examined.
2. The key study in this field is the Comparative Party Manifestos Project (Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Richard Hofferbert, Ian Budge and Paul Sabatier, Parties, Policies, and Democracy [Boulder, CO: Westview Press 1994]). This project is largely based on only one aspect of the manifesto data, the frequencies of issues. However, in our study we coded not only issues, but also campaign styles, presentation of arguments, addressees, and other aspects of the manifestos and television debates. Moreover, the Comparative Party Manifestos Project measured the relevance of issues using saliency theory, a method which has been much criticised (for example, Herbert Kitschelt, The Transformation of European Social Democracy [Cambridge: CUP 1994] pp.202-203). Therefore, wherever possible we coded all statements in a directional way in order to compare ideological positioning of the parties examined.
3. Kitschelt (note 1 p.261) ,
4. for instance, concludes that the British Labour Party and indeed the Swedish SAP are broadly social democratic parties, although places them in a 'left' camp, with a strong historical adherence '...to traditional socialist ideas about workers' empowerment and income distribution'. However, more recently, the Labour Party under Tony Blair has embarked upon a 'Third way' 'in the sense that it is an attempt to transcend both old-style social democracy and neoliberalism' (Anthony Giddens, The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy [Cambridge: Polity Press 1998] p.26).
5. As a consequence, some commentators have gone as far as describing it as having become a British-style Christian Democratic party (David Marquand, 'The Blair Paradox', Prospects, 20 May 1998, p-19).
6. Stephen Driver and Luke Martell, New Labour: Politics After Thatcherism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1998); Colin Hay, 'That Was Then, This Is Now: The Revision of Policy in the "Modernisation" of the British Labour Party, 1992-97', New Political Science, 20 (1998) pp.7-33; Mark Wickham-Jones, 'The Reformist Trajectory Under Stress: Issues in the Study of New Labour and Business', Contemporary Political Studies (1998); Mark Whickham-Jones, 'Labour's Adoption and Abandonment of the European Model', paper for the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA Sept. 1998).
7. Stephen Driver and Luke Martell, New Labour: Politics After Thatcherism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1998); Colin Hay, 'That Was Then, This Is Now: The Revision of Policy in the "Modernisation" of the British Labour Party, 1992-97', New Political Science, 20 (1998) pp.7-33; Mark Wickham-Jones, 'The Reformist Trajectory Under Stress: Issues in the Study of New Labour and Business', Contemporary Political Studies (1998); Mark Whickham-Jones, 'Labour's Adoption and Abandonment of the European Model', paper for the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA Sept. 1998).
8. Stephen Driver and Luke Martell, New Labour: Politics After Thatcherism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1998); Colin Hay, 'That Was Then, This Is Now: The Revision of Policy in the "Modernisation" of the British Labour Party, 1992-97', New Political Science, 20 (1998) pp.7-33; Mark Wickham-Jones, 'The Reformist Trajectory Under Stress: Issues in the Study of New Labour and Business', Contemporary Political Studies (1998); Mark Whickham-Jones, 'Labour's Adoption and Abandonment of the European Model', paper for the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA Sept. 1998).
9. Stephen Driver and Luke Martell, New Labour: Politics After Thatcherism (Cambridge: Polity Press 1998); Colin Hay, 'That Was Then, This Is Now: The Revision of Policy in the "Modernisation" of the British Labour Party, 1992-97', New Political Science, 20 (1998) pp.7-33; Mark Wickham-Jones, 'The Reformist Trajectory Under Stress: Issues in the Study of New Labour and Business', Contemporary Political Studies (1998); Mark Whickham-Jones, 'Labour's Adoption and Abandonment of the European Model', paper for the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA Sept. 1998).
10. Eric Shaw, 'The Determinants of the Programmatic Transformation of the British Labour Party', paper for the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA Sept. 1998) p.3.
11. René Cuperus and Johannes Kandel, 'The Magical Return of Social Democracy', in René Cuperus and Johannes Kandel, European Social Democracy: Transformation in Progress (Amsterdam: Wiardi Beckman Stichting 1998) p.16.
12. Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to Power (Princeton: Princeton UP 1985); Angelo Panebianco, Political Parties: Organization and Power (Cambridge: CUP 1988).
13. Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to Power (Princeton: Princeton UP 1985); Angelo Panebianco, Political Parties: Organization and Power (Cambridge: CUP 1988).
14. Maurice Duverger, Political Parties (NY: Wiley 1954) pp.1-3 and 17-23.
15. Christopher Pierson, Beyond the Welfare State (Cambridge: Polity Press 1992) pp.187-93.
16. Richard Titmuss, Social Policy (London: Allen and Unwin 1974); Göran Therborn, 'Welfare State and Capitalist Markets', Acta Sociologica 30/3-4 (1987) pp.237-54; Gøsta Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Princeton UP 1990).
17. Richard Titmuss, Social Policy (London: Allen and Unwin 1974); Göran Therborn, 'Welfare State and Capitalist Markets', Acta Sociologica 30/3-4 (1987) pp.237-54; Gøsta Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Princeton UP 1990).
18. Richard Titmuss, Social Policy (London: Allen and Unwin 1974); Göran Therborn, 'Welfare State and Capitalist Markets', Acta Sociologica 30/3-4 (1987) pp.237-54; Gøsta Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Princeton UP 1990).
19. Esping-Andersen (note 9); Henry Milner, Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice (Oxford: OUP 1989).
20. Esping-Andersen (note 9); Henry Milner, Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice (Oxford: OUP 1989).
21. Esping-Andersen (note 6); Milner (note 10).
22. Detlef Jahn and Peter Esaiasson. The Meaning of The Left-Right Semantic: An Analysis of Ideological Positioning in the 1994 Election Campaigns in Sweden and Germany, Manuscript (Nottingham Trent U. and U. of Göteborg 1998).
23. The Swedish election study (Mikael Gilljam and Sören Holmberg, Väljarnas val [Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik 1995] p.188) states that the crucial issues for the SAP victory in the 1994 election were unemployment, the economic situation and social welfare. For each of these issues, the SAP was seen as more competent than the government parties. For instance, unemployment rose under the non-socialist government from 2-3 per cent in the early 1990s to 12 per cent in 1993.
24. Tim Tilton, The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy: Through the Welfare State to Socialism (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1990) pp.125-44; Hugh Heclo and Henrik Madsen, Policy and Politics in Sweden: Principled Pragmatism (Philadelphia: Temple UP 1987) p.157.
25. Tim Tilton, The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy: Through the Welfare State to Socialism (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1990) pp.125-44; Hugh Heclo and Henrik Madsen, Policy and Politics in Sweden: Principled Pragmatism (Philadelphia: Temple UP 1987) p.157.
26. Herbert Tingsten, The Swedish Social Democrats: Their Ideological Development (Ottawa: Bedminster 1973) p.707.
27. In 1976, the LO introduced the idea of collective share-ownership by endorsing the creation of so-called 'wage-earner funds'. Had the proposal been enacted, collective funds would gradually have acquired ownership in all large profitable corporations. However, the issue divided the labour movement. In particular, a rift developed within the confederation of the white collar trade unions (TCO), which in turn had a substantial disuniting effect on the SAP itself (Jonas Pontusson, The Limits of Social Democracy: Investment Politics in Sweden [Ithaca: Cornell UP 1992]).
28. Kitschelt (note 1) p.173.
29. Neil Kinnock, The Future of Socialism, Fabian Tract 509 (1986) p.9.
30. In 1918, Labour adopted various constitutional changes, with the new Clause Four advocating explicit socialist goals: 'To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.' (Cited in B. Jones, 'Clause Four and Blair's Brilliant Campaign', Talking Politics 8/1 [1995] pp.511-32).
31. The Gang of Four were four former Labour government ministers from the social democratic wing of the Party, and announced the formation of the SDP in March 1981. By the end of the year, they had been joined by a further 26 Labour MPs and one Conservative MP.
32. Eric Shaw, Discipline and Discord in The Labour Party (Manchester UP 1988) p.224.
33. Labour received only 28.5 per cent of the vote, its worst result since 1918. In contrast, the SDP-Liberal Alliance won 26.2 per cent of the British vote.
34. Ivor Crewe, 'The Labour Party and The Electorate', in Dennis Kavanagh (ed.) The Politics of The Labour Party (London: Allen and Unwin 1982); 'Great Britain', in Ivor Crewe and David Denver (eds.) Electoral Change In Western Democracies (London: Croom Helm 1985).
35. Ivor Crewe, 'The Labour Party and The Electorate', in Dennis Kavanagh (ed.) The Politics of The Labour Party (London: Allen and Unwin 1982); 'Great Britain', in Ivor Crewe and David Denver (eds.) Electoral Change In Western Democracies (London: Croom Helm 1985).
36. Robert Garner, 'Modernisation and The Policy Review: The Labour Party Since The 1987 Election', in Talking Politics 1/3 (1989) pp.101-4; 'Labour and The Policy Review: A Party Fit To Govern?', in Talking Politics, 3/1 (1990) pp.31-6.
37. Robert Garner, 'Modernisation and The Policy Review: The Labour Party Since The 1987 Election', in Talking Politics 1/3 (1989) pp.101-4; 'Labour and The Policy Review: A Party Fit To Govern?', in Talking Politics, 3/1 (1990) pp.31-6.
38. Andrew Gamble and Gavin Kelly, 'Making The Best of Thatcherism', New Statesman, 4 Oct. 1996, pp.26-9.
39. Perhaps the most significant marker for the demise of the 'socialist' agenda within New Labour is the abandonment of Clause Four by the Party at a special conference in April 1995. Former Deputy Labour Party leader Hattersley described the event as: 'April 29, 1995 will become the day when Labour turned itself into a social democratic party' (cited in Patrick Seyd. 'Tony Blair and New Labour', in Anthony King et al. [eds.] New Labour Triumphs: Britain At the Polls [NJ: Chatham House 1998] p.55).
40. For instance, Gamble ('The Legacy of Thatcherism'. in Mark Perryman [ed.] The Blair Agenda [London: Lawrence & Wishart 1996] p.38) notes that new Labour has accepted much of the neo-liberal policy agenda it inherited from the Conservatives, including: '... most of the privatisation measures introduced by the Thatcher government; many of the education and health reforms; most of the trade union reforms; the restructuring of the civil service; the sale of council houses; the abolition of exchange controls; and the acceptance of much lower levels of direct taxation'.
41. Gamble (note 27) p.35.
42. David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, The British General Election of 1997 (Basingstoke: Macmillan 1998): Ben Pimlott 'New Labour, New Era' The Political Quarterly 68/4 (1997) pp.325-34; Hay (note 3); Shaw (note 4); Wickham-Jones (note 3).
43. David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, The British General Election of 1997 (Basingstoke: Macmillan 1998): Ben Pimlott 'New Labour, New Era' The Political Quarterly 68/4 (1997) pp.325-34; Hay (note 3); Shaw (note 4); Wickham-Jones (note 3).
44. David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, The British General Election of 1997 (Basingstoke: Macmillan 1998): Ben Pimlott 'New Labour, New Era' The Political Quarterly 68/4 (1997) pp.325-34; Hay (note 3); Shaw (note 4); Wickham-Jones (note 3).
45. Labour defeated the Conservative Party by a margin of 44.4 per cent of the votes to 31.4 per cent, securing a 179 seat majority in the House of Commons.
46. Pierson (note 8); Kitschelt (note 1).
47. Kitschelt (note 1) pp.261-72.
48. Michael Laver and W. Ben Hunt, Policy and Party Competition (New York and London: Routledge 1992) pp.49-52.
49. Kitschelt (note 1) p.263.
50. Detlef Jahn, New Politics and Trade Unions. An Organization Theoretical Analysis of the Debate on Nuclear Energy in Swedish and German Trade Unions (Aldershot: Dartmouth 1993).
51. Andre Markovits and Philip Gorski, The German Left: Red, Green and Beyond. (Cambridge: Polity Press 1993); Stephen Padgett 'The German Social Democratic Party: Between Old and New Left', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (ed.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994).
52. Andre Markovits and Philip Gorski, The German Left: Red, Green and Beyond. (Cambridge: Polity Press 1993); Stephen Padgett 'The German Social Democratic Party: Between Old and New Left', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (ed.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994).
53. Kitschelt (note 1) p.273.
54. For instance, the Basic Programme instituted in 1989 placed a heavy emphasis on ecological concerns (Giddens, 1998 [note 2]: 19).
55. Stephen Padgett and William Paterson, A History of Social Democracy in Postwar Europe (London: Longman 1991) pp.177-82.
56. See for instance: Hermann Schmitt, Neue Politik in alten Parteien: Zum Verhältnis von Gesellschaft und Parteien in der Bundesrepublik (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1987); Thomas Koelble, The Left Unravelled (London: Duke UP 1991); David Arter, 'The War of the Roses: Conflict and Cohesion in the Swedish Social Democratic Party', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (eds.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994); Kitschelt (note 1).
57. See for instance: Hermann Schmitt, Neue Politik in alten Parteien: Zum Verhältnis von Gesellschaft und Parteien in der Bundesrepublik (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1987); Thomas Koelble, The Left Unravelled (London: Duke UP 1991); David Arter, 'The War of the Roses: Conflict and Cohesion in the Swedish Social Democratic Party', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (eds.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994); Kitschelt (note 1).
58. See for instance: Hermann Schmitt, Neue Politik in alten Parteien: Zum Verhältnis von Gesellschaft und Parteien in der Bundesrepublik (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1987); Thomas Koelble, The Left Unravelled (London: Duke UP 1991); David Arter, 'The War of the Roses: Conflict and Cohesion in the Swedish Social Democratic Party', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (eds.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994); Kitschelt (note 1).
59. See for instance: Hermann Schmitt, Neue Politik in alten Parteien: Zum Verhältnis von Gesellschaft und Parteien in der Bundesrepublik (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1987); Thomas Koelble, The Left Unravelled (London: Duke UP 1991); David Arter, 'The War of the Roses: Conflict and Cohesion in the Swedish Social Democratic Party', in David Bell and Eric Shaw (eds.), Conflict and Cohesion in Western European Social Democratic Parties (London: Pinter 1994); Kitschelt (note 1).
60. In the context of the left-libertarian discourse it is important to note that a feminism which is based solely on equality, gender solidarity and economic concerns is qualitatively different from the new, left libertarian feminism that insists on 'women's self-organisation, the right to be different from men, and the expression of a new gender-based communitarian culture' (Kitschelt [note 1] p.271).
61. The SAP still occupied key positions with other collective actors during periods of opposition. It was firmly tied to certain vested 'economic' interests like trade unions, and was involved in various committees and organisations which were engaged in economic and social planning. Inevitably then, the SAP tended to emphasise an economic-productionist agenda at the expense of an anti-expansionist ecological discourse.
62. Tim Tilton, 'The Role of Ideology in Social Democratic Politics', Klaus Misgeld, Karl Molin and Klas Åmark (eds.), Creating Social Democracy: A Century of Social Democratic Labor Party in Sweden (Pennsylvania State UP 1992).
63. Russell Dalton, 'Responsiveness of Parties and Party Systems to the New Politics', in Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Richard Stöss and Bernhard Wessels (eds.), Politische Klasse und Politische Institutionen. Probleme und Perspektiven der Elitenforschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1991); Robert Rohrschneider, 'New Party versus Old Party Realignment: Environmental Attitudes, Party Policies, and Partisan Affiliations in Four West European Countries', Journal of Politics 55/3 (1993) pp.682-701.
64. Russell Dalton, 'Responsiveness of Parties and Party Systems to the New Politics', in Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Richard Stöss and Bernhard Wessels (eds.), Politische Klasse und Politische Institutionen. Probleme und Perspektiven der Elitenforschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher 1991); Robert Rohrschneider, 'New Party versus Old Party Realignment: Environmental Attitudes, Party Policies, and Partisan Affiliations in Four West European Countries', Journal of Politics 55/3 (1993) pp.682-701.
65. Jahn and Esaiasson (note 12).
66. Ibid. p. 21.
67. The problem of the length of the German party manifestos has also been noted in the Party Manifesto Project (Hans-Dieter Klingemann, 'Electoral Programmes in West Germany 1949-1980', in Ian Budge, David Robertson and Derek Hearl [eds.], Ideology, Strategy and Party Change: Spatial Analysis of Post-War Election Programmes in 19 Democracies [Cambridge: CUP 1987] p.301). In their study, they solved the problem by coding paragraphs instead of quasi-sentences as in all other countries. We focused on the preambles since their messages are rather similar to those of the Swedish manifestos. Furthermore, the preamble summarises the most important issues for a party and is therefore well-suited for the identification of the major messages.
68. The participants in the German television debate were: Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU), Theo Waigl (CSU), Klaus Kinkel (FDP), Oskar Lafontaine (SPD), Joschka Fischer (Greens), and Gregor Gysi (PDS).
69. Richard Tait, 'The Debate That Never Happened', paper for the Political Studies Association EPOP Meeting (University of Essex, Sept. 1997) p.1.
70. The participants were Michael Heseltine (Conservatives), Alan Beith (Liberal Democrats), and John Prescott (Labour).
71. For more methodological details see: Martin Brandorf, Peter Esaiasson and Nicklas Håkansson, 'Svenska Valfrågor: Partiernas Valdebatt 1902-1994', Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 98/4 (1996) pp. 1-36; Peter Esaiasson, Niklas Håkansson, and Detlef Jahn, 'On the Nature of Negative Campaigning: Evidence from Germany and Sweden', paper presented at the Europe Researched Conference (Prague, 16-19 Oct. 1997). The coding procedures are specified in a document and the issues coded are based on a lengthy coding scheme. Readers who are interested in further information about the issues and the specific aspects which led to the identification of the various discourses are invited to contact the authors of this article.
72. For more methodological details see: Martin Brandorf, Peter Esaiasson and Nicklas Håkansson, 'Svenska Valfrågor: Partiernas Valdebatt 1902-1994', Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 98/4 (1996) pp. 1-36; Peter Esaiasson, Niklas Håkansson, and Detlef Jahn, 'On the Nature of Negative Campaigning: Evidence from Germany and Sweden', paper presented at the Europe Researched Conference (Prague, 16-19 Oct. 1997). The coding procedures are specified in a document and the issues coded are based on a lengthy coding scheme. Readers who are interested in further information about the issues and the specific aspects which led to the identification of the various discourses are invited to contact the authors of this article.
73. Ian Budge and Dennis Farlie, Explaining and Predicting Elections: Issue Effects and Party Strategies in Twenty-Three Democracies (London: George Allen & Unwin 1983) pp.21-56; Klingemann et al. (note 1) pp.22-6.
74. Ian Budge and Dennis Farlie, Explaining and Predicting Elections: Issue Effects and Party Strategies in Twenty-Three Democracies (London: George Allen & Unwin 1983) pp.21-56; Klingemann et al. (note 1) pp.22-6.
75. Kitschelt (note 1) p.202 notes that there are problems with attempting to map party ideology using saliency theory. For instance, in the Party Manifesto Study, many issues are not only coded in negative and positive terms, which violates the saliency theory and reintroduces spatial-positional (or directional) analogy directly, but also that crucial issues which are coded as salience questions are actually substantive alternatives on a single ideological dimension (for example, internationalism, protectionism, education).
76. Ian Budge, 'Great Britain: A Stable, but Fragile, Party System', in Paul Pennings and Jan-Erik Lane (eds.), Comparing Party System Change (London: Routledge 1998) p.126.
77. Michael Freeden, 'The Ideology of New Labour', Political Quarterly 79/1 (1999) p.47.
78. Jahn and Esaiasson (note 12).
79. Detlef Jahn, 'Changing Political Opportunities in Germany: The Prospects of the German Greens in an United Germany', Current Politics and Economics of Europe 4/4 (1994) pp.209-26; 'Green Politics and Parties in Germany', M. Jacobs (ed.), 'Greening the Millennium? The New Politics of the Environment', special issue of Political Quarterly (Oxford: Blackwell 1997) pp.174-82.
80. Detlef Jahn, 'Changing Political Opportunities in Germany: The Prospects of the German Greens in an United Germany', Current Politics and Economics of Europe 4/4 (1994) pp.209-26; 'Green Politics and Parties in Germany', M. Jacobs (ed.), 'Greening the Millennium? The New Politics of the Environment', special issue of Political Quarterly (Oxford: Blackwell 1997) pp.174-82.
81. Pierson (note 8); Kitschelt (note 1); Jahn and Esaiasson (note 12).
82. Markovits and Gorski (note 36).
83. Joyce Gelb, Feminism and Politics. A Comparative Perspective (Berkeley: U. of California Press 1989) p.176.