In a recent issue of this journal, David Rubinstein (2000) questioned Stephen Driver and Luke Martell's characterisation of New Labour as a fundamental break with the past. Rubinstein notes important continuities between ‘Old’ Labour governments and the current Blair government, and correctly challenges Driver and Martell's simple ‘old’/‘new’ portrayal. However, he underestimates the extent to which contextual changes impact upon a left-of-centre government's ability to achieve its aims.
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