‘Levelling the playing field, activating the players’: New Labour and ‘the cycle of disadvantage’

English New Labour’s ‘third way’ on welfare has been much debated. It is argued here that there is substance to the claim that third way thinking integrates elements of hitherto conflicting perspectives.This is illustrated by New Labour’s interpretation of new evidence on the extent of intergenerational continuities in disadvantage. New Labour’s understanding of the cycle of disadvantage draws on five conflicting explanations of such continuities.The commitment to end child poverty was due in part to the impact of this evidence, and New Labour’s eclectic approach has led it to revisit issues neglected for much of the post-war period.