In his 1997 manifesto Tony Blair described New Labour as ‘the political arm of none other than the British people as a whole’. Nine years on, it more closely resembles the ‘political arm’ of an Asbo family, at war with itself and indifferent to the feelings of others. Rarely has a government seemed so introspective, selfish and out of touch. ‘Social exclusion’ has come to mean the government’s exclusion of everyone else from its deliberations. Socialism has been replaced by antisocialism.
Mr Blair used to make pledges about health and education; now the only pledge that consumes his colleagues is his promise to step down before the next election and — more importantly — when, precisely, he will ‘deliver’ on that promise. The government has been keen to highlight the alleged new consensus between the Prime Minister and Gordon Brown on pensions policy. But, in truth, it is Mr Blair’s own retirement plans, rather than those of the voters, that preoccupy both men.
Most objectionable is the Prime Minister’s claim that the media have invented a ‘soap opera’ that eclipses all the supposedly excellent work that he and his Cabinet colleagues are undertaking. This is rich from the original scriptwriter of the New Labour soap opera, the very politician who transformed government into a cult of personality and encouraged press and public alike to embrace the characters in Blair Square.
The New Labour show, like all well-crafted soap operas, has had a good run. But now its entertainment value is being overwhelmed by the sheer nastiness of its plotline and its disconnection from ordinary people’s lives: the voters are switching off.
The paradox is as follows. At The Spectator we disapprove strongly of much that New Labour has done in office.
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