ABSTRACT
The theme of ‘modernisation’ has been integral to the New Labour project ever since Tony Blair became Leader of the party in 1994. Each of the two leaders of the party before that – Neil Kinnock (1983-92) and John Smith (1992-94) – were political modernisers in their different ways, but as Leaders of the Opposition who never became Prime Minister, they could only contribute to the modernisation of the Labour Party, not of the Labour Government. Tony Blair has been a moderniser from conviction rather than political convenience and has been prepared to accept and carry forward large parts of the Thatcherite legacy in ways which neither of his predecessors would have been inclined to do. For what began with his determination to modernise the Labour Party – e.g. the introduction of One Member One Vote and the deliberate downgrading of the role of the affiliated trade unions in the party policy-making process – has continued since the party has been in office with his determination to introduce a wide range of reforms to modernise the institutions which make up the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in the United Kingdom.
