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Nine Years of New Labour: Neoliberalism and Workers’ Rights
Author(s) -
Smith Paul,
Morton Gary
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2006.00506.x
Subject(s) - labour law , neoliberalism (international relations) , safeguarding , scope (computer science) , commons , trade union , relevance (law) , industrial relations , labour economics , economics , gig economy , political science , law and economics , political economy , law , medicine , nursing , computer science , programming language
Since it was first elected in 1997, a large Commons majority won in three general elections and a benign economic environment have combined to give New Labour the authority and opportunity to implement its programme for industrial relations and employment law. This paper offers an appraisal of New Labour’s neoliberalism, and its relevance for understanding the scope and limits of its reform of employment law. The conclusion calls for a campaign to restore and extend trade union rights as a prerequisite for safeguarding workers’ interests within the labour market, employment relationship and society.