Leaders

Labour’s new prudence

Tony Blair’s search for a new centre-left philosophy has given way to an old-fashioned faith in the virtues of public spending

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EVER since he came to office Tony Blair has struggled to define a new form of centre-left politics. At seminars in New York, roundtables in Downing Street and lectures in France and Germany, the British prime minister has wrestled with his creed. His “third way” aims to combine a left-wing commitment to compassion and equality with a conservative belief in traditional morals and fiscal rectitude. No circle is left unsquared.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Labour’s new prudence”

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