Blairism In New Labour's Domestic Economic Policy Since 1997

Despite British involvement in the Iraq War, which has aroused strong opposition from most of the British people, New Labour under Prime Minister Tony Blair got re-elected in British 2005 General Election, making Blair the first Labour Prime Minister winning three consecutive terms. This has become a hot issue for the UK, and at the same time has attracted great attention around the world. Then, what on earth makes New Labour so popular in the country? The direct reason lies in its economic record that the other European countries coveted for but are unlikely to achieve. Thus, it is very practical and meaningful to study New Labour's domestic economic policy that has helped to bring about British economic achievements.As a term naming Tony Blair's ideas of policy making, Blairism is quintessence of New Labour's domestic economic policy. It regards the Third Way concept as its mainstay, and absorbs advantages from the preceding Conservative Governments. Economically speaking, Blairism maintains economic stability by cautiously implementing macro-economic policy that is mainly made up of prudent fiscal policy and pro-active monetary policy; it puts priority over knowledge-driven economy by stressing significance of education in order to close British productivity gap; it also strives for establishing constructive partnership by emphasizing the role of government and employees in economy. Strictly following British national situations and international environment, the proper practice of Blairism in British domestic economy has resulted in stable economic growth with high employment and low inflation.Providing a panoramic picture of Blairism in New Labour's domestic economic policy since 1997, this thesis is going to extract the most representative ideas of Blairism in this area and examine its impacts on the British society. This will help to recognize the features of British domestic economic policy. More importantly, this recognition will benefit other countries with the advantageous experience and help to take warning from the failures so that other countries may make fewer detours in their economic construction.The result of the study shows that Blairism in New Labour's domestic economic policy is a relatively successful application of the Third Way in the UK's economy, and it is partly a positive continuation of Margaret Thatcher's economic policy. It has brought obvious economic improvement to the British society and people, and has exerted some negative influence on the country as well.