Blair targets 'family values' as a platform for Labour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.TONY BLAIR, the shadow Home Secretary, set out yesterday to recapture for Labour the concept of 'family values' from the Tory party, writes Colin Brown.
In a speech that will be seen as part of a strategy to redefine socialism, Mr Blair said 'the family' was the starting place for combating crime.
'The left, until recently at least, often seemed inhibited about discussing the family because of the view that individual freedom in lifestyle could not be constrained by any particular form of social unit.
'The right is full of platitudes about 'family values' but has actually watched the decline of them with almost total equanimity. The result is that one absolutely crucial area of our lives, with a profound and acknowledged impact on crime and social disorder, is left largely uninhabited by anything resembling policy or strategy,' he told a conference in Alloa.
Mr Blair said the left had surrendered the high ground to the right on personal responsibility and the significance of the family. But he added: 'If the old left tended to ignore the importance of the family, the new right ignores the conditions in which family life can most easily prosper.' He said Labour's vision of the family, and policies to support it, had to recognise family break-up along with the need for discipline in schools, responsibility and citizenship.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments