Sonja Cecar

Blatcherism - How Much Thatcherism is in Blairism Sonja Cecar

How did Tony Blair succeed to make Labour Party electable after it was believed to be in political wilderness and some even predicted that the 1990s are to be Labours final hour? Adapting to the new realities, Labour Party changed its name into New Labour and parted with some traditional convictions embedded in the old-style socialist democracy. In order to compete for office, it embraced many policies qualified as Thatcherite. During her tenure, Thatcher changed British politics in an almost revolutionary manner. She broke with the post-war consensus politics - so-called one nation politics - and pursued neo-liberal objectives. Free market-economy was the most salient feature of her policies; monetarism and privatisation were used as economic tools to make Britain a prosperous and competitive economy again. Resemblances and parallels between Thatchers and Blairs policies on examples of economy, social policies and the governance style are far too striking to be coincidences. Hence, how much Thatcherism is in Blairism.