Making Sense of New Labour

Making Sense of New Labour is an in-depth study of the transformation of the British Labour Party. The book draws on a wide range of material, including party political broadcasts and other election material, Tony Blair's speeches, and internal policy discussion to analyse different elements of New Labour's political philosophy, which Finlayson argues is a reflection of the culture and politics of contemporary capitalism. As such, the party inevitably finds itself managing a status quo rather than driving genuine change. The book considers Labour's marketing strategy and susceptibility to consumer culture, the party’s rhetoric of modernisation and its deployment of ‘The Third Way’. It also examines the meaning of the ‘knowledge economy and the significance of welfare-to-work.