Recasting Social Democracy: A Comment on Hay and Smith

Since 1983 Labour has undergone a far-reaching metamorphosis. In a recent debate in Political Studies. Colin Hay and Martin Smith provide important insights into that transformation.¹ However, the dichotomy within which they locate developments is a limited and potentially misleading one. Hay argues that Labour has uncritically accepted a new Thatcherite political settlement while Smith claims the changes represent a modernization of the party. I will make four points about Labour's transition before drawing general conclusions about how the party's transformation can be best understood. The matters I discuss are Labour's economic measures, its electoral strategy, the nature of its objectives, and the orientation of its policies.