''New Labour, New Life for Britain'' was a political

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

published in 1996 by the

British Labour Party The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...

. The party had recently rebranded itself as New Labour under

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. The manifesto set out the party's new " Third Way"

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

approach to policy, with subsequent success at the 1997 general election.new Labour because Britain deserves better
- Political Science Resources. Access date: 10 July 2012. The 1997 general election produced the biggest Labour majority, in seat terms, in the history of the party's existence. They won 418 seats, with a majority of 179. They delivered on the main aims of the manifesto including introducing a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, increasing

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS) spending and reducing class sizes in schools. The Conservatives' rule was over after eighteen years; under the leadership of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

they suffered their worst defeat since the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

, losing 178 seats, including the unseating of seven Conservative Cabinet Ministers and the loss of all their Scottish and Welsh representation; becoming the official opposition with 165 seats. This election was the start of a Labour government following an 18-year spell in opposition and continued with another landslide victory in 2001 and a third consecutive victory in 2005, despite losing a great deal of popular support. In 2010, they became the official opposition with 258 seats, having fallen to 29% in the popular vote. The new Leader of the Labour Party,

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...

, completely abandoned the New Labour branding in 2010 after being elected, moving the party's political stance slightly to the left.''Ed Miliband ditches New Labour''
- The Mirror. Published: 15 February 2012, Access date: 10 July 2012.

Pledge card

During the 1997 general election campaign, a pledge card with five specific pledges was issued and detailed in the manifesto too. The pledges were: * Cut class sizes to 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7-year-olds by using money from the assisted places scheme. * Fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders by halving the time from arrest to sentencing. * Cut NHS waiting lists by treating an extra 100,000 patients as a first step by releasing £100,000,000 saved from NHS red tape. * Get 250,000 under-25s off benefits and into work by using money from a windfall levy on the privatised utilities. * No rise in income tax rates, cut

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

on heating to 5% and inflation and interest rates as low as possible.

References

{{Tony Blair New Labour Political history of the United Kingdom Political manifestos 1996 in politics 1996 in the United Kingdom Party platforms 1996 documents

Pledge card

See also

References