| Notes |
New Labour
In the 1990s the society came to be a major force in the modernisation of the Labour party, building on its work from the 1980s and developing many of the ideas that would come to characterise New Labour.
A New Constitution for the Labour Party was instrumental in the introduction of “one member, one vote” to party elections and contained the original recommendation for the replacement of Clause IV. A Fabian pamphlet by Ed Balls proposed independence for the Bank of England. The Fabians applied themselves to the challenges that Labour faced in building an election-winning coalition of voters and in the Southern Discomfort series pointed the way towards many of the changes that would take place and help Labour to its historic 1997 victory.
After Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997, over 200 Fabians sat in the House of Commons, including many of the cabinet. However, the society developed its role as a critical friend, supporting the Blair and Brown government’s in developing policy, without being afraid to draw attention to the omissions or shortcomings of the government. During these years the society conducted influential policy commissions on reforming the monarchy, ending child poverty and taxation and citizenship (the latter laying the ground for the Labour government’s decision to raise taxes to fund the NHS). |