From Thatcherism to the Third Way: Labour and the ‘Great Moving Right Show’, 1979–99

This article examines the British Labour Party’s response to Thatcherism in the 1980s and 1990s. It discusses the changes in global economics and politics during the last years of the Cold War and the first decade of the post-Cold War world, as neoliberalism and globalization reshaped both capitalism and socialism. This was the world that Labour had to navigate while rethinking its ideology and its relationship with the British working class. The article explores the reforms Neil Kinnock introduced at a time of growing consumerism, deindustrialization, electoral defeats and significant changes in international socialism. It shows how Labour accepted that market forces would become more prevalent in its programme, but also how they would be used to benefit society, not to promote Thatcherite individualism. The article then discusses Tony Blair’s reforms, which took Kinnock’s modernization further as New Labour sought a ‘Third Way’ between state and market. Overall, this article argues that Labour’s reaction to Thatcherism was shaped mainly by the economic and political changes that developed in the United Kingdom, but also by the changes in the global environment during the early phase of neoliberalism and globalization and the conclusion of the Cold War. It shows that its continued belief in society and the importance of community ensured it did not become a Thatcherite party during the global ‘Great Moving Right Show’.