The Blair legacy : politics, policy, governance, and foreign affairs

Tony Blair was one of few British premiers to dominate his era. Yet what is his lasting importance? The Blair Legacy offers a comprehensive examination of the long-term impact of Tony Blair's three New Labour Governments. Bringing together the foremost scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, this volume explores how Labour changed the terms of political debate, established an ideological stamp, reformed public services, revised economic management, transformed governing institutions, and repositioned Britain in a wider world. How did Blair change British politics, policy, governance and foreign affairs? Beyond merely chronicling the events of the decade, this volume is rich in theoretical insights, historical comparisons, and cross-national analysis. The Blair Legacy also delves deeply into Blair's foreign policy, with emphasis on the Iraq War and Anglo-American relations. Contents......Page 8 List of Tables......Page 10 List of Figures......Page 11 Preface and Acknowledgements......Page 12 Notes on Contributors......Page 14 Introduction: How to Assess the Blair Legacy?......Page 20 Part I: Politics......Page 40 1 Blair's Electoral Record......Page 42 2 The Party is Over: The "Modernization" of the British Labour Party......Page 58 3 The Conservatives: Trounced, Transfixed – and Transformed?......Page 71 4 The Liberal Democrats after Blair......Page 84 5 The Pressure Group Challenge......Page 99 6 New Labour, the Third Way and Social Democracy: An Ideological Assessment......Page 113 Part II: Policy......Page 126 7 Blair and the NHS: Resistible Force Meets Moveable Object?......Page 128 8 Reformulating Social Policy: The Minimum Wage, the New Deal, and the Working Families Tax Credit......Page 141 9 New Labour and the British Model of Capitalism......Page 154 10 Judicial Reform and Human Rights......Page 169 Part III: Governance......Page 182 11 Tony Blair as Prime Minister......Page 184 12 The Role of Parliament under Blair......Page 197 13 The Blair Government, Devolution and Regionalism in the United Kingdom......Page 209 14 Mayors, Monitors and Measurers: Blair's Legacy to Local Democracy......Page 223 15 The Constitutional Revolution of Tony Blair......Page 238 Part IV: Foreign Affairs......Page 252 16 What Difference Did He Make? Tony Blair and British Foreign Policy from 1997–2007......Page 254 17 The Mistake Heard Round the World: Iraq and the Blair Legacy......Page 266 18 A Just War: Prime Minister Tony Blair and the End of Saddam's Iraq......Page 279 19 US-UK Relations: Structure, Agency and the Special Relationship......Page 292 20 Blair and the European Union......Page 304 Conclusion: The Legacy of Tony Blair......Page 318 References......Page 330 B......Page 354 D......Page 355 E......Page 356 H......Page 357 L......Page 358 N......Page 359 S......Page 360 W......Page 361 Y......Page 362 Exploring how Tony Blair and New Labour changed British politics, policy, governance and foreign affairs, this volume stands as a key actor on the world and domestic stage, delving into Blair's foreign policy legacy, with empahsis on the Iraq War and Anglo-American relations. Tony Blair was one of few British premiers to dominate his era. Yet what is his lasting importance? The Blair Legacy offers a comprehensive examination of the long-term impact of Tony Blair's three New Labour Governments. Bringing together the foremost scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, this volume explores how Labour changed the terms of political debate, established an ideological stamp, reformed public services, revised economic management, transformed governing institutions, and repositioned Britain in a wider world. How did Blair change British politics, policy, governance and foreign affairs? Beyond merely chronicling the events of the decade, this volume is rich in theoretical insights, historical comparisons, and cross-national analysis. The Blair Legacy also delves deeply into Blair's foreign policy, with emphasis on the Iraq War and Anglo-American relations This volume brings together the foremost scholars of British political studies to examine how Tony Blair changed British politics, policy, governance, and foreign affairs during his decade in office. It has an impressive line-up of foremost scholars in British political studies. It provides theoretical, comparative and historical perspective. It gives comprehensive assessment of Tony Blair's legacy in political and policy terms. It is an important addition to literature on foreign affairs given the centrality of foreign policy to the Blair legacy. It is suitable for upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars studying Politics; especially those interested in British and European Politics; International Relations (particularly Anglo-American relations) and Foreign Policy. Exploring how Tony Blair and New Labour changed British politics, policy, governance and foreign affairs, this volume stands as a key actor on the world and domestic stage, delving into Blair's foreign policy legacy, with emphasis on the Iraq War and Anglo-American relations Exploring how Tony Blair and New Labour changed British politics, policy, governance and foreign affairs, this volume stands as a key actor on the world and domestic stage, delving into Blair's foreign policy legacy, with empahsis on the Iraq War and Anglo-American relations. "This is an admirable short-term description and evaluation of the politics, foreign and domestic policies, institutional impact, and general consequences of the Blair governments--comprehensive in scope, encyclopaedic in knowledge, careful in judgment, and remarkably integrated and readable."--Donley T. Studlar, Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University, USA.