ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by outlining the major debates that influenced Labour’s narrative of modernisation. It addresses the ideas, programmes and ideologies from continental Europe and America that shaped the New Labour project. The chapter examines the diffusion of ideas through the conveyor belt of diverse political networks and think-tanks across Europe and the Anglosphere. It also examines the impact of Europe-anisation and Americanisation on the formation of New Labour’s strategy and identity. The chapter describes by addressing the importance of America and Europe in Anthony Crosland’s revisionism during the 1950s and 1960s. The revisionist analysis had a lasting impact on New Labour, even if it was unfairly compartmentalised by Blair as part of Old Labour’s failed inheritance. The full-throated global free market was unleashed in the 1990s, culminating in the triumph of globalisation and the so-called end of history with far-reaching implications for the efficacy of centre-left politics. The economic dynamism and global competitiveness of America mesmerised and fascinated New Labour.
