New Labour, New Life For Britain was a hugely significant political manifesto

Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...

 published in 1996 by the UK's Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, which had recently restyled itself as New Labour under Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

. The manifesto set out the party's new "third way" centre-left approach to policy, with subsequent success at the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

.

The 1997 election produced the biggest Labour majority in the history of the party. They won 418 seats, with a majority of 179. The Conservatives under the leadership of John Major suffered their worst defeat in the party's history, losing 178 seats and becoming the official opposition with 165 seats. This election was the start of a Labour government after 18 years in opposition and continued with another landslide victory in 2001 and a victory in 2005. In 2010, they became the official opposition with 258 seats. The new leader of the Labour party, Ed Miliband, dropped the New Labour brand in 2010 when elected as party leader.

Pledge card

During the 1997 campaign, a pledge card with five specific pledges was issued and detailed in the manifesto too. The pledges were:

• cut class sizes to 30 or under for 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds by using money from the assisted places scheme
• fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders by halving the time from arrest to sentencing
• cut NHS
  National Health Service
  The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
  
   waiting lists by treating an extra 100,000 patients as a first step by releasing £100 million saved from NHS red tape
• get 250,000 under-25-year-olds off benefit and into work by using money from a windfall levy on the privatised utilities
• no rise in income tax rates, cut VAT
  Vat
  Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
  
   on heating to 5 per cent and inflation and interest rates as low as possible

The text of the 1997 election manifesto can be read here: http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab97.htm.

Articles relating to policies announced in the manifesto

• Individual Learning Account
  Individual Learning Account
  The Individual Learning Accounts scheme was announced in the 1997 Labour Party manifesto to support adult education with a system of tax incentives from employers, as well as a cash contribution of £150 to each of a million individuals...
  
  s
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
  Freedom of Information Act 2000
  The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
  
  
• Human Rights Act 1998
  Human Rights Act 1998
  The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
  
  
• National Minimum Wage Act 1998
  National Minimum Wage Act 1998
  The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom, currently £6.08 per hour for workers aged 21 years and older, £4.98 per hour for workers aged 18–20...
  
  
• Regional Development Agencies
• Devolution
• UK Trident programme
  UK Trident programme
  The UK Trident programme is the United Kingdom's Trident missile-based nuclear weapons programme. Under the programme, the Royal Navy operates 58 nuclear-armed Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and around 200 nuclear warheads on 4 Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines from...
  
   (retaining)
• Windfall Tax (United Kingdom)
  Windfall Tax (United Kingdom)
  The Windfall Tax was a tax on what were claimed to be "the excess profits of the privatised utilities" , introduced by the Labour government in 1997. It followed from their manifesto commitment made during the 1997 general election campaign to impose a "windfall levy" on the privatised utilities...
  
  
• Landmines (total ban)