The Blair Supremacy : a Study in the politics of Labour's party management / Lewis Minkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Minkin, Lewis, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labour Party (Great Britain)--History.

Labour Party (Great Britain).

Blair, Tony, 1953-.

Blair, Tony.

History.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1997-2007.

Great Britain.

Politics and government.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 798 pages ; 24 cm

Distribution:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan.

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press, 2014.

Summary:

Lewis Minkin has immense experience of the Labour Party and has acted as adviser to two major internal reviews of the internal party organisation. As the author of two widely acclaimed and original studies on the Labour Party, The Labour Party Conference and The Contentious Alliance, he possesses an unrivalled grasp of the subtleties and nuances of Labour's internal relationships. The Blair Supremacy is groundbreaking in its investigation of the processes, methods, character and politics of party management, during a period when Blair strengthened his own position as he and his allies and managers drove the party through a ferment of new developments under the name 'New Labour'. For this book Minkin has been able to draw on a wealth of sources unavailable to other scholars. What is uncovered here is revealing and at times startling. It includes an extensive covert internal organisation, a culture which facilitated manipulation and what can be desired as a rolling coup. These developments are rigorously and critically examined with a strong focus on three fundamental questions: How were these changes achieved? Was it, as it was often represented, a complete supremacy? Why did it end so badly with Blair being forced, in effect, to step down? The study challenges many misconceptions and sheds new light on the Blair legacy and on the intense controversies surrounding him. It also adds greatly to our understanding of some acute contemporary problems in British political life. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 Antecedents 9

1 The tradition of party management and the road to destabilisation 11

2 Revolt and restoration 42

3 Contentious alliance, OMOV and the management of democratic renewal 82

Part 2 Forging 'New Labour' management 115

4 'New Labour' and the culture of party management 117

5 The Leader, the machine and party management 146

6 Transforming fundamentals and laying new foundations 176

7 Creating 'the Party into Power' project 200

8 Managing the changing NEC: partnership and shifting power 229

9 Managing policy relations with business and unions 266

10 Managing new policy institutions 303

11 Managing the party conference 333

12 Managing candidate selection 369

13 Managing the Parliamentary Labour Parry (PLP) 401

14 Employment relations, representation and party management 435

Part 3 Crisis and control 461

15 The crisis of party management 463

16 Distrust, management and the long road to Iraq 503

17 New challenges and management on the road to Warwick 557

18 Managing for legacy 609

Part 4 Appraisal 661

19 Summary: analysis and characterisation 661

20 Evaluation and perspectives 663

21 Epilogue: Brown, management inheritance and new moves to reform 734.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780719073793

0719073790

0719073804

9780719073809

OCLC:

865158111