After Blair: Conservatism Beyond Thatcher

Description

In 1995 Will Hutton's The State We're In was published to huge acclaim. Unofficially adopted as the New Labour manifesto before their landslide victory in 1997, it was distinguished as much by where the message came from as its content: Hutton was no Labour stalwart but a 'natural' Conservative - a stockbroker and exactly the type of middle England swing voter Tony Blair had to win over to defeat the incumbent Tories. Kieron O'Hara's book is The State We're In for the noughties. A university lecturer, O'Hara is the natural Labour voter arguing the case for the other side. New Labour's blind passion for reform, targets and its myopic view of the moral high ground has obscured the many honourable intentions and indeed worthy achievements of the government since 1997. O'Hara argues that the time has come for a renaissance of a type of conservative thought - with modifications fit for the 21st century - that the trauma of Thatcherism has since blocked from view. Part new history of conservative thinking - something, incredibly, not seen since the early 20th century, part biting critique of the reality of the New Labour dream and part (proudly unofficial) manifesto for the centre-right, After Blair will be a landmark book, and seeking to provoke intelligent debate about Britain's future at a time when almost every commentator assures us change is afoot.

Kieron O'Hara is a journalist, academic and author. A frequent contributor to the New Statesman in particular, his Trust: from Socrates to Spin (Icon, 2004) was extremely well-received.