'Soft regulation' and the modernisation of employment relations under the British Labour Government (1997-2010): partnership, workplace facilitation and trade union change

This article explores the way that the British New Labour Government (1997-2010) sought to craft a modernised approach to employment relations through the means of 'soft regulation'. Drawing from discrete empirical projects from each of New Labour's three terms of office, the article examines the role of the state in promoting labour-employer partnerships for mutual gains, the facilitation of workplace change and the modernisation of trade unions. The article argues that the lack of collective regulation in Britain has meant that the state has had to intervene in every more subtle, discrete and complex and, because of this, analysis of the varied means of 'soft regulation' allows for a deeper appreciation of the nature of state intervention in employment relations. Such intervention brings new tensions and challenges to the organisation of the state's role in employment relations.