March of the Moderates: Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and the Rebirth of Progressive Politics

by Richard Carr

Overview

Anglo-American relations, the so-called 'Special Relationship', reached a new era with the rise of New Labour and the New Democrats in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Richard Carr reveals the untold story of the transatlantic 'Third Way'­ by analysing how Tony Blair and Bill Clinton won power and ultimately how they lost it. Using newly unearthed archives and interviews with key players, he investigates the relationship between the administrations and sheds new light on big events such as the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, the handover to George W. Bush, and the controversial Iraq War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788317344
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/05/2019
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Richard Carr is a Senior Lecturer in History and Politics at Anglia Ruskin University. His 2017 biography of Charlie Chaplin was longlisted for a Kraszna-Krausz book prize. In 2019-20 he serves as a Theodore C. Sorensen Fellow at the John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, and a Bordin-Gillette Fellow at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations x

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction 1

1 Too Tied to Myth; Too Rooted in the Past 5

The New Deal and New Jerusalem 8

The limits of liberalism 13

Defence and disorder 17

British disease, bunker mentality 20

The start of the moderates 28

2 'Unconvincing, Uninformed, and Tired': The Left in the 1980s 43

Reagan and Thatcher 49

Anti-semitism, anti-Americanism 55

Against defending our own country 57

Siege economy and ideological purity 61

The movement or the voters 63

3 Harbingers of the Revolution 69

An alliance for change? 71

Transatlanticism 77

The Democratic leadership council and the 'New Democrats' 83

Labour policy review 90

1988 93

A whole new world 99

4 Office and Opposition 105

Prime minister Kinnock? 106

Clinton takes the nomination 111

Beating Bush 122

An Englishman in Little Rock 132

Clinton transition and New Labour comes to town 135

5 New Democrats, New America 141

Delivering a new economic agenda 142

Internal debates 149

Legislative successes 152

Healthcare 155

1994 160

Back to the centre 163

6 Learning from the Best 177

Over there 178

New Labour, new leader 182

Clause IV 186

Bill and Tony 1: November 1995 190

Stakeholding 191

Bill and Tony 2: April 1996 195

Polling, presentation and, finally, power 200

7 Blair and Brown's Britain 207

National minimum wage 208

Opportunity 213

Invest more, demand more: health 217

Invest more, demand more: education 221

Financial crisis 229

Community 235

Responsibility 241

8 The Third Way International 245

Blair in charge 246

Northern Ireland 247

Blair, Clinton and Lewinsky 252

Brown's America 256

The Transnational Third Way 258

Gore 2000 261

Blair alone 265

9 Intervention and Iraq 269

Haiti 270

Anguish in Africa 271

Going in 273

The Iraqi Prelude 280

9/11 284

Afghanistan 289

The shifting kaleidoscope 290

Blaming Blair 293

Afterword 303

Select Bibliography 309

Archival material 309

United Kingdom 309

United States of America 310

Correspondence and interviews with the author 311

Selected publications 311

Index 315

Editorial Reviews

March of the Moderates is an authentic and clear-eyed analysis of Anglo-American politics in the eighties and nineties. Readers may not agree with all its conclusions, but its commentary should make all rethink their perspectives on this vital period.” —Dick Gephardt, Democratic Minority/Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, 1989-2003, and Presidential Primary Candidate, 1988 and 2004

“March of the Moderates is a clear, informed and informative account of the ways in which Bill Clinton's 'New Democrats' and Tony Blair's 'New Labour' were able to build successful political movements of the centre left. It has much to consider for British and American audiences alike - and offers insights into both the policies and the personalities.” —Charles Clarke, former British Home Secretary and distinguished visiting fellow at the Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California

“March of the Moderates is a well-researched, illuminating analysis of the realignment of progressive politics in the US and UK. Anyone looking to understand how Bill Clinton and the New Democrats and Tony Blair and New Labour regained their electorates' trust and, ultimately, managed to change their countries for the better would do well to read it.” —Al From, founder of the Democratic Leadership Council and author of The New Democrats and the Returban to Power

“An engrossing account of the jourbaney to power for inspirational leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. It shows how they crafted a new future for their countries, charting both the successes and the failures. This readable book brings it home that vision and courage are needed to unlock opportunity for those who are so frequently overlooked. A timely reminder that progressive politics is about building opportunity for all, and that there is no crime in aspiration.” —Baroness Helen Liddell, former Secretary of State for Scotland

“At a time when trust in politics and hope for a better future is ebbing away, this book shows it is worth a trip back to the 1990s to remind ourselves how the New Democrats and New Labour built up that trust, won five elections between them and then used that power to build a more optimistic and equal society. Of course, mistakes were made - and we should learn from them - but Blair and Clinton were the most successful centre-left leaders since FDR in the US and Attlee in the UK.” —Rachel Reeves MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, and author of Women of Westminster

From the Publisher