Introduction

1When the first edition of The Struggle for Labour’s Soul was published Tony Blair’s government was in its second term. Soon Blair would achieve the feat of being the first Labour Prime Minister to serve two consecutive full terms. In 2004 New Labour dominated British politics and would continue in office for a further six years. Nevertheless, Labour did not have it all their own way. The Iraq War was a foreign policy quagmire; the culture of spin taken to new levels by New Labour had increased cynicism of British government; and whilst reasonably ideologically united Gordon Brown and his acolytes were persistent in their pressuring of Blair to set a firm date for his resignation. At its core the New Labour project was beginning to crack.