New Labour: choice and values

Abstract

In the general election of May, 2005, the word ‘respect’ denoted New Labour’s latest attempt to remoralize UK society. This article argues that there is a contradiction between individual choice, as the basis for reforming public services, and the agenda for citizenship and cohesion. The latter requires services to provide a collective context for convivial and co-operative social relations. New Labour’s third term will increasingly raise issues about the nature of human well-being in an affluent service economy.