This article represents an attempt to make sense of the contradictions and tensions in the New Labour welfare project. It argues that these can be understood as the product of two characteristics of New Labour, which at best inhibit or even undermine its more progressive policies and at worst result in a more reactionary stance. These are: a populist tendency to woo rather than to lead the electorate and a pragmatic ‘what works’ approach, which avoids a direct assault on structural inequalities. Together these help to explain, in particular, New Labour's ambiguous stance towards redistribution. The final section looks forward, offering a compass to guide New Labour towards a more progressive second term.
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