Historicizing ‘New’ Labour

This chapter moves on from current debates about ‘New’ Labour to the wider historical context, starting with a brief overview and chronology of the key landmarks in Labour’s hundred-year history. It will then consider how the study of the party’s past can illuminate an understanding of its present. An acquaintance with historical ‘facts’ can however only be a start, albeit an essential one, towards getting to grips with ‘New’ Labour. This is primarily because there is no single universally accepted version of the party’s history with which to compare its contemporary development; indeed there are as many arguments about Labour’s earlier trajectory as there are about its present course. The final section of this chapter contrasts the three major competing frameworks that dominate the study of Labour Party history. As will become clear, these different interpretations of Labour’s past in many ways mirror those analyses of ‘New’ Labour discussed in the Introduction.