If Tony Blair's first term as Britain's prime minister was an overture, his second promises to be a symphony for advocates of Third Way politics -- on both sides of the Atlantic.
Blair and his New Labor Party scored a resounding victory over William Hague's rudderless Tories in Britain's June 7 general election, earning a clear mandate, as Blair put it, to continue giving "our people the skills, the technology, the know-how ... to make the most of themselves." Blair is the first Labour prime minister to lead his party to back-to-back national election victories since Harold Wilson in the mid-1970s.
With Bill Clinton out of office and George W. Bush in the White House, 10 Downing St. becomes the main test kitchen for New Democrat/New Labour policies on a national scale. And Blair is an eager and inventive cook. For instance, in the run-up to the election he unveiled a proposal to create "baby bonds" for all British newborns. The individual development accounts, which would be worth an estimated $4,500 to $7,500 by the time a child reaches 18, could be used to pay college bills, put a down payment on a house, or start a business. If the idea sounds familiar to Americans, there's a good reason: Former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska proposed a nearly identical "KidSave" plan last October.
Blair's latest crime-fighting efforts also reflect cross-pollination with New Democrat innovations on this side of the ocean. His government's "intelligence-based policing" initiative, now set for a major expansion, uses the same data-driven crime-targeting techniques behind Maryland's acclaimed Hot Spots program. Blair also launched a nationwide campaign against juvenile delinquency in late April that is rooted in restorative justice principles. Rather than putting young hooligans behind bars, the government is sending them back to their neighborhoods to take responsibility for and repair the damage they've done to their communities.
New Democrats will be watching Blair's second term with keen interest. In many respects, he is running the very type of New Democrat government that they had hoped to see in power in Washington today. True, he enjoys all the advantages of a parliamentary system in which one electoral victory provides control of all the levers of government, but his second big victory shows that a party united around new ideas and progressive values can build a durable majority.
Just as Clinton's election victories showed, the Blair government's back-to-back wins demonstrate the power of "third way" themes in national elections. Democrats on this side of the Atlantic who profess to be at sea about the future direction of their party should look across the water for fresh inspiration.
Blueprint keyword: Extra Blair
