Russell Holden considers the policy reversal on Europe made by the Labour Party between 1983 and 1999. It charts and analyzes how the Party became pro-European, with particular emphasis on how this change was conceived and implemented. In so doing, it concentrates on how the European issue became a political priority and dynamic tool for promoting economic reform and Party unity, two essential requirements in making the Party - New Labour - a credible alternative government in the eyes of the general public.

Russell Holden considers the policy reversal on Europe made by the Labour Party between 1983 and 1999. It charts and analyzes how the Party became pro-European, with particular emphasis on how this change was conceived and implemented. In so doing, it concentrates on how the European issue became a political priority and dynamic tool for promoting economic reform and Party unity, two essential requirements in making the Party - New Labour - a credible alternative government in the eyes of the general public.

This title was first published in 2002. This book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on the UK-EU relationship and on the development of the Labour party since Tony Blair became leader in 1994, providing a detailed examination of the process of policy-making undertaken by Labour in relation to the 1996-97 intergovernmental conference (IGC) of the EU. It tracks policy development from opposition to government, culminating in the conclusion of treaty negotiations at Amsterdam in June 1997. The book moves beyond the existing literature in providing an original account of policy-making based on internal party and government sources. It highlights a ’New Labour’ approach to the EU - set in place by the time of the Amsterdam summit and characteristic of the Blair government’s European policy thereafter - and suggests that this approach represents both continuity and change with previous UK governments and a break from the European social democratic perspective that had been central to Labour’s previous pro-European conversion.

The book provides a clear assessment of the New Labour governments in Britain, when Tony Blair then Gordon Brown were Prime Ministers between 1997 and 2009. This assessment is based upon a review of implemented public policies and their outcomes instead of programmes or discourses.

Lurid headlines on every aspect of migration have been a consistent feature of the last decade, from worries over asylum seekers to concerns about unprecedented economic immigration from Eastern Europe. This book presents the first comprehensive account of government policy on immigration over the last ten years, providing an in-depth analysis of policy and legislation since Tony Blair and New Labour were first elected. The account begins by placing policy change under Labour in their proper historical context, before examining the key policy themes - economic migration; security; integration; asylum; delivery - of the last decade. Through an analysis of such policy themes, the author contends that immigration policy has undergone an intense and innovative transformation in the period from May 1997 to May 2007. Arguing that a more plural system of governance exists, the author challenges traditional accounts of policy development. By addressing the various influences on immigration policymaking, from globalisation, the European Union and the law, to politics, the media and the networks of special interests, he seeks to provide a holistic explanation for the transformation of immigration policy. The author concludes with an evaluation of Labour's immigration reforms, and whether government policy can be judged a success. The book will be of interest to policymakers, academics, students studying immigration, and readers interested in serious current affairs.

In May 2005 the Labour Party led by Tony Blair won an unprecedented third term in power. After eight years in government its achievements were many. But there was controversy too, not least the decision to support the United States in the invasion of Iraq. The Blair government promised to be different both at home and abroad. New Labour would move social democratic politics on in the face of a rapidly changing world. It would also take British politics and policy-making beyond Thatcherism. But how successful has it been? In this second edition of the widely praised New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism, Stephen Driver and Luke Martell explore the origins of New Labour and examine in detail the Labour government's record in power. They argue that this record bears the imprint of the reforms to the British state and society made under successive Conservative administrations. At the same time, New Labour has taken British politics and public policy in directions that reflect the party's progressive, liberal and social democratic past. New Labour is post-Thatcherite. The completely revised second edition of New Labour contains: - An accessible and comprehensive account of New Labour politics - Up-to-date policy chapters on economic, social and constitutional affairs - A new chapter on European and foreign policies - An original and critical interpretation of New Labour and the future of social democratic politics in Britain, Europe and other parts of the world The second edition of New Labour will be an invaluable resource for students of politics, sociology and other social sciences, those involved in public policy and public affairs and anyone looking for an accessible guide to New Labour and the Blair government.

Offering a radical interpretation of a major political issue, Chris Gifford moves beyond existing narrative and institutional accounts of Britain and Europe to present a theoretically coherent and unique perspective on this troubled relationship. He acknowledges that populist Euroscepticism has become fundamental to constituting Britain and 'Britishness' in a post-imperial context, despite membership of the European Union. Organized chronologically, this interesting study provides lucid overviews of key periods in the British-European Union relationship. It combines political economy with political identity to illustrate how forms of Euroscepticism have become embedded across the British political class and culture. The book focuses not on outlining history or the impact of British integration on British institutions, but on the ways in which elite behaviour towards European integration should be analyzed as practices and discourses that use Euroesceptism to construct Britain and distinctive British political projects.