TONY BLAIR AND NEW LABOUR'S LANGUAGE

TONY BLAIR AND NEW LABOUR'S LANGUAGE

In 1997 the Labour Party returned to power after more than two decades of Conservative rule, establishing again its supremacy in the General Elections of 2001.

Headed by Tony Blair, the New Labour has carried out a profound ideological revision.

Indeed, the Labour Party has left aside the old Socialist principles to adopt a more sensible attitude towards the interests of the big industries, expanding the privatizing policy to education and health service and, most of all, adapting his actions to the requirements of the new economy and globalization.

In this ideological revolution, a new political language has been playing an important role because in a period of increasing mediatization of politics, the New Labour has made full use of the great mass media potential as promoters and even creators of political events, for example through the so-called "spin".

So, the language of the Labour Party is not only a way to spread a message, but it is the message itself.

The New Labour has picked up part of Thatcher's ideology: indeed, Blair is an admirer of the Tory Prime Minister but Blair's language is very different from Thatcher's because Thatcherism was based on a language that clearly distinguished Conservative ideology from Labour one.

Blair, instead, has introduced a rhetorical style including some linguistic elements that have made himself and his ideas more persuasive.

Indeed, in Blair's speeches and interviews, one of the most important aspects of his style is his ability to look a normal person capable of understanding people's ideas and to solve real problems.

In order to do this, Blair often employs informal expressions and sentences in the first person ("I" and "we") expressing his thoughts, experiences, difficulties or emotions.

Another particular feature of Blair's language is the constant appealing to the "common sense", that is, to a basis of common values.

Indeed, Blair tries to convince his audience presenting some matters or ideas as obvious, real, and so, undeniable.

The "common sense" of Blair's speeches is nothing but an appeal to the evidence, in order to present his arguments as rational and objective, without any possibility of contradiction.

But we must say that the "common sense" is a product of the dominant ideology so it appears natural but actually it's not because is something imposed by the ruling class.