The marketing industry has not gone untouched by 10 years of Labour government. A series of policies and initiatives have helped to change the communications landscape.

The government has been largely supportive of self-regulation in the marketing industry. It oversaw the transfer of the regulation of broadcast advertising to the Advertising Standards Authority, and perhaps its biggest piece of legislation has been the 2003 Communications Act, which replaced a disparate range of regulators with Ofcom. 'It has been a great regulator in lots of ways,' says Nick Johnston, partner at law firm Osborne Clarke. 'It is more in touch with the industry and its issues than its predecessors.'

The support for self-regulation reflects Labour's generally pro-business stance. Self-regulation is usually a cheaper option than government regulation, and can protect ministers from controversial areas, though the government can always lean on the regulator to make the decisions it wants.

The major exception has been the issue of marketing food to children. Following the publication of the 'Choosing Health' White Paper in 2004, the government's attitude toward food and drink marketing has hardened as lobby groups have become noisier and more influential. The unexpectedly harsh Ofcom rules on broadcast advertising, unveiled late last year, have been viewed as the consequence of government pressure for a stricter code.

Some regulations that the government has introduced have originated from Europe, such as the ban on tobacco marketing – although Britain adopted it far quicker than many other European nations – and regulations on email marketing. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive currently being hammered out in Brussels will also affect marketing in the UK.

Perhaps the Blair government's greatest success in relation to the marketing industry has been winning the Olympics. How much it will cost remains to be seen, but the biggest marketing bonanza on earth is heading this way in five years' time.

Britain turns digital
Labour has presided over the launch of digital TV services that have revolutionised the UK TV market. Much growth has been driven by the private sector and Freeview, but the government has co-ordinated the drive toward analogue switch-off.

Transforming regulation
One of Labour's most important legacies to the communications industry, Ofcom was formed in 2002 and given full authority by the 2003 Communications Act. A single body replacing a patch-work of regulators, it has been viewed as a success.

A single ITV
The 2003 merger of Carlton and Granada to create ITV plc was another product of the 2003 Communications Act, which liberalised media ownership. The Contract Rights Renewal system was subsequently created to protect advertisers.

Food ads trimmed
The 'Choosing Health' White Paper, published in 2004, laid the foundations for the government's response to the obesity crisis. The result has been new codes for advertising through both broadcast and non-broadcast media.

Games' big winner
When London pipped Paris to win the right to stage the 2012 Games, much of the credit went to Blair himself, whose lobbying of key IOC members ahead of the vote in July 2005 outwitted the French delegation. Just don't ask how much it will cost… eventually!

Canny gamble
Due to come into force in September, the Gambling Act is one of the biggest pieces of marketing deregulation. The Act lifts the ban on broadcast ads for casinos, betting shops and gambling websites, and makes it easier to run prize draws. We wait to see what impact this will have on the advertising landscape, particularly as the government tightens its hold on alcohol advertising, it inevitable that gambling will be tightened particularly in its exposure to children. How long will it before gambling companies are banned from using their brands on football shirts

As for the time ahead under Gordon Brown we can only cross our fingers and hope that he quashes David Milliband's plan to only allow opt in direct mail — at least he moved in the re-shuffle — and what impact his stance on gambling has, but it doesn't look good in the space of a few weeks to have killed off casinos and stopped the relaxation on advertising gambling.