Response: Macaulay’s essay on the English early 19th century poet and society figure, Lord Byron, said it all. He was too much adored; and in the inevitable reaction several years later he was too much hated. This has been true of a surprising number of recent British peacetime Prime Ministers. British people often forget how Harold Wilson dominated British politics in the 1960’s. His appeal was not the s... more

Response: Tony Blair came to power promising much, but he leaves having accomplished little. The governing Labour Party’s unpopularity in the United Kingdom as a whole is a reflection of this fact. While foreign policy does not tend to win elections for political parties, it can easily lose them. The Labour Party seems to be learning this the hard way; not surprising when one looks at its record over the pa... more

Response: Expectations were high in 1997, when New Labour came to power on a manifesto which promised new vision and new energy for international development: a new, independent and Cabinet-level ministry; commitment to poverty reduction; a joined-up approach across aid, trade and other policy areas; and the likelihood of a forceful Cabinet Minister, in the shape of Clare Short. No new money was promised in... more

Response: Tony Blair proclaimed education as a ‘driving mission’ of New Labour. Education was not only ‘the best economic policy, preparing Britain for the future’ but also ‘the best social policy, helping create a Britain where work and merit, not privilege or class background, decide how far you go’. Blair’s view of education is based on the idea that Britain has emerged from the Thatcher years as a ‘kno... more