Remoralizing Britain?: Political, Ethical and Theological Perspectives on New Labour

Description

On seeking office and in coming to power, New Labour presented its vision for Britain in moral terms. During the course of the New Labour administration, further moral themes have been introduced: responsibility and respect, the merits of local government and self-governance, and the moral imperative to confront threats of 'terror' from abroad. This moral agenda, with its apparently religious roots, has been much noted, but not much discussed. The political phenomenon of New Labour requires the disciplines of theology and ethics, as well as social theory and politics, to be properly understood and assessed. Drawing together for the first time theorists from a range of disciplines and commitments, this interdisciplinary collection offers a reckoning of this New Labour decade. As such, it has four central research questions: What is the nature of this remoralising? What are its sources? How effective has it been and what difference has this moral discourse made? What can be learned from Blairism about the relationship between faith, morals and governance?

Peter Manley Scott is Senior Lecturer in Christian Social Thought and Director of the Lincoln Theological Institute, University of Manchester. Christopher Baker is Director of Research for the William Temple Foundation and Senior Lecturer in Public and Urban Theology at the University of Chester, UK. Elaine Graham is Grosvenor Research Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Chester, UK.

"The authors of this engaging book provide a multifaceted theological engagement with the last ten years of British politics, or the 'Blair years'. These years marked a decline in political engagement in Britain, and a loss of faith in politics. They also revealed a continuing moral decline that was only exacerbated by the moral confusion in Blair's own leadership. The authors suggest that only an ecclesial politics can provide the resources for a remoralization of Britain in the context of the evident moral decline that has marked the last forty years of liberalism and neoliberalism. They suggest that while the churches in Britain face a variety of challenges, not least from the decline in churchgoing, nonetheless they remain a more deliberative and participative form of political organisation than any of Britain's political parties. This collection makes a powerful case for the continuing public significance of religion as a source of moral and political capital in contemporary Britain and makes a crucial contribution in this time of social and economic crisis." - Professor Michael Northcott, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, UK "This collection of essays on the moral claims of Tony Blair's New Labour strategy and government could not be more timely and relevant. With the collapse of its economic claim to growing prosperity and financial prudence, what is left to sustain New Labour's agenda? Remoralizing Britain provides a unique interdisciplinary account of the religious sources and political impact of New Labour's critical turn from common ownership to communal values as the basis of its electoral appeal and government policies. These essays evaluate how that ethical turn worked out in practice in the Blair years. I commend this major case study to all who are concerned about the relationship between morality and government as citizens, members of faith communities and scholars." - William Storrar, Director, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton.