New Labour, New Realism?

This chapter will explore four developments within the CJS system that occurred, from the 1990s onwards, under Conservative and New Labour administrations - Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), Joint Enterprise and the whole life tariff. The chapter begins with a discussion of the influence of Left Realism on New Labour and how New Public Management led to significant changes across the CJS.It begins with a discussion the reform of the Mental Health Act (MHA) and the notion of Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD). Left Realism emerged within criminology a decade before the election of New Labour. However, it is possible to see its impact on some key notions of New Labour policy. Left realist were ultimately critical of the way that the New Labour approached questions of community and crime.