1997-2007

• William Hague 1997-2001:

  • 36-yr-old
  • unified Conservative Party on Europe
  • Party became divided -> those who believed the party needed change
  • Hague’s leadership threatened - 1999, Portillo elected to Parliament in a by-election
  • Some believed Portillo should have become leader in 1997 -> Hague appointed Portillo as shadow chancellor
  • after 2001 defeat, Hague resigned the leadership immediately
• Iain Duncan-Smith 2001-03:

  • after Hague’s resignation -> leadership candidates were Kenneth Clarke + Michael Portillo
  • Clarke = pro-European views
  • Portillo = Eurosceptic + wanted to modernise the party
  • these views made them unpopular -> they chose Duncan-Smith
  • he promoted Compassionate Conservatism - support strong families + reformed welfare systems
  • he wad Eurosceptic + reopened divisions over Europe
  • he supported Britain’s entry into the Iraq war -> heavily criticised
  • Smith faced a vote of no confidence -> salary paid to wife to be his secretary
• Michael Howard 2003-05:

  • installed as leader, unopposed
  • support from Mods + Rockers
  • struggled to compete with Blair in opinion polls
  • party remained distrusted on policy areas -> health + education
  • promoted modernisers to his cabinet
  • 2005 election defeat -> David Cameron as shadow education secretary + George Osborne as shadow chancellor
• David Cameron 2005-2016:

  • detoxify + modernise party -> mor tolerant + inclusive
  • promoted issue of climate change
  • in favour of gay rights + increase overseas aid
  • protect the NHS
  • party = more centrist, tolerant + outward looking
  • Labour party popularity in decline
  • party became united
  • Cameron recovered much of the ground lost since 1992
  • Blair left office 2007.
• Tony Blair background:

  • born in 1958 to Scottish parents
  • studied law at Oxford
  • became active in politics during mid-1970s
  • 1983 - elected the Labour MP for Sedgefield, near Durham
• Blair became leader of the Labour Party in 1994 after the death of John Smith -> he successfully modernised the Labour Party + his youth and lively character appealed to the public
• Blair became PM in 1997, defeating the Conservatives in a landslide victory. He remained PM until his resignation in 2007.
• Blair transformed the party into ‘New Labour’:

  • nationalisation
  • avoid mentioning socialism in connection with Labour Party
  • adopted business-centric politics
  • legal restrictions on trade unions
  • stop presenting their policies in terms of a class struggle
  • form closer ties with Europe and maintain ‘special relationship’ with US
• 1997 election:

  • Labour expanded their voter base and a more appealing ideology which allowed them to defeat the Conservative in a landslide victory
  • around 10% of voters changed their votes from Conservative to Labour + Labour gained more support in almost every demographic
• Spin doctors -> key feature within Blair’s government, their job was to make sure government policies were presented to the public in the best possibly light - ‘spinning’ the story to make government look good -> Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson were the most prominent spin doctors who worked in Blair’s election campaign.
• Blair’s policies:

  • making Bank of England independent
  • 1999 devolution to Scotland and Wales
  • 1998 Good Friday Agreement
  • introduction of the national minimum wage
  • 1999 House of Lords reform
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • Controversial public sector reforms
  • introduction of tuition fees
• Pensions - Gordon Brown grew Britain’s financial reserves through taxing the pension system.

  • by the end of Blair’s leadership, pensioners lost £8 billion through tax.
• Employment - Blair’s government increased employment with 2.9 million more people in work in 2007 than 1997
• Iraq War - March 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein.