Whatever Happened to the Progressive Century?

In the mid‐1990s, after eighteen years of Conservative rule, there was much talk about the prospects for a progressive century. Tony Blair, under the tutelage of Roy Jenkins, made it clear that he wanted to end the schism on the centre‐left. Paddy Ashdown saw the same opportunity. Ironically, the el...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Political quarterly (London. 1930) 2007-01, Vol.78 (1), p.175-181
Main Authors: SHERLOCK, NEIL, LAWSON, NEAL
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Constitutions
Ideology
Labour parties
Labour Party
Leadership
Liberal democratic parties
Liberal Democrats
Liberalism
Paddy Ashdown
Policy
Policy analysis
Political analysis
Political parties
Political thought
progressive
Progressivism
Public policy
Tony Blair
Twentieth Century
United Kingdom
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the mid‐1990s, after eighteen years of Conservative rule, there was much talk about the prospects for a progressive century. Tony Blair, under the tutelage of Roy Jenkins, made it clear that he wanted to end the schism on the centre‐left. Paddy Ashdown saw the same opportunity. Ironically, the electorate's desire to kick out the Conservatives and vote in progressives of any stripe delivered a Labour landslide that made cooperation impossible for Blair and Ashdown. Some progressive policies, notably on the constitution, have been implemented, but the political and intellectual roots to create a progressive century have yet to be properly established. Foreign policy divisions, especially on Iraq, have made this much more difficult. This article looks at the prospects for progressives—under new leadership—up to and after the next election in terms of ideas and policy.
ISSN:0032-3179
1467-923X
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00843.x