Similarities between Thatcherism and New Labour

Similarities between Thatcherism and New Labour

new labour has been described by many, primarily those in the “left wing” as “Thatcherism mark 2”.

Accused of accommodating itself to Thatcherite policies and ditching all its traditional values.

Socialist concerns have been replaced by neo-liberal economics and the promotion of individual opportunity and self-help.

There are some interesting discontinuities as well as continuities with Conservative Neo-Liberalism, which, while insufficient to justify the label “The Third Way”, do mean that New Labout is developing its own distinctive version of Neo-Liberalism, albeit with Thatcherite foundations. It has been described as “thatcherism with a smiley face” referring to the way it lost touch and popularity with the people in the sleaze of its later stages.

Perhaps the best d...