Tony Blair's promise was that Labour was "elected as New Labour and would govern as New Labour". This work examines the extent of New Labour's distinctiveness and asks to what extent its policies, style and organization differ from those of previous Conservative and "Old" Labour governments.

Introduction: The Making of New Labour; S.Ludlam - New Labour and the Electorate; C.Pattie - New Labour's Third Way and European Social Democracy; B.Clift - New Labour and the Party: Members and Organisation; P.Seyd and P.Whiteley - New Labour's Parliamentarians; P.Cowley, C.Mellors and D.Darcy - New Labour and the Unions: the End of the Contentious Alliance?; S.Ludlam - The Hand of History: New Labour, News Management and Governance; B.Franklin - New Labour, the Constitution, and Reforming the State; D.Richards and M.J. Smith - New Labour's Economics; A.Gamble and G.Kelly - New Labour and Education, Education and Education; C.McCaig - New Labour and Welfare; C.Annesley - New Labour's Foreign and Defence Policy: External Support Structures and Domestic Politics; J.Buller - Interpreting New Labour: Constraints, Dilemmas and Political Agency; M.Kenny and M.J. Smith - Conclusion: the Complexity of New Labour; M.J. Smith