Tony Blair was the longest serving Labour Prime Minister in British history This book the third in a trilogy of books on New Labour edited by Martin Powell analyses the legacy of his government for social policy focusing on the extent to which it has changed the UK welfare state Drawing on both conceptual and empirical evidence the book offers forward looking speculation on emerging and future welfare issues The book s high profile contributors examine the content and extent of change They explore which of the elements of modernisation matter for their area Which sectors saw the greatest degree of change Do terms such as modern welfare state or social investment state have any resonance They also examine change over time with reference to the terms of the government Was reform a fairly continuous event or was it concentrated in certain periods Finally the contributors give an assessment of likely policy direction under a future Labour or Conservative government Previous books in the trilogy are New Labour new welfare state 1999 and Evaluating New Labour s welfare reforms 2002 see below The works should be read by academics undergraduates and post graduates on courses in social policy public policy and political science