1997 key issues

• Cons resided over an economic crisis in the 1990s and so the competence of the gov was in question
• Cons were divided over the Maastricht Treaty
• Cons had a reputation for sleaze
• NHS and education were in decline
• Lab promised to make investments in NHS and education to raise standards
• Gordon Brown (Chancellor) promised to be fiscally responsible - Lab had a rep as a 'tax and spend' party
• Labour adapted policies into the '3rd Way' which was more Centrist, in response to the traditional working class diminishing
• Labour offered five pledges - cut class sizes, fast-track punishment for young offenders, cut NHS waiting lists, get 250,000 under 25s employed, cut VAT on heating and not raise income tax