1997-2007

Question 1

Who was Prime Minister from 1997-2005?

Answer 1

Tony Blair

Question 2

Blair’s strengths

Answer 2

-Had a ‘normal man’ portrayal (Supported Newcastle and had a relatively normal upbringing)
-He was charismatic, witty and skilled with the media
-Was highly popular with the electorate, and appealed to a wider range than a typical Labour leader
-His popularity soared to 93% after his speech upon the death of Princess Diana, in 1997

Question 3

Blair’s weaknesses

Answer 3

-He was still educated in a private school

Question 4

Blair’s ‘Third Way’

Answer 4

-A mix of Labour social policies and Conservative economic policies
-A more central outlook on politics
-Blair did not want to replace the policies of Thatcher and Major

Question 5

Blair’s constitutional reform

Answer 5

-Devolution to Scotland and Wales in 1999
-A Greater London Assembly consisting of a London mayor in 2000
-House of Lords reform was carried out in 2000, with the removal of all but 92 hereditary peers
-The reform process ran out of steam; the voters did not care and neither did Blair’s government

Question 6

Blair’s ‘New Deal’

Answer 6

-The Minimum Wage Act of 1998
-The Freedom of Information Act of 2000 (However, Blair did say he actually regretted this act as it prevented politicians from making difficult decisions for fear it would go public)
Focused on supporting people back into work
-It provided job training and voluntary work, but this support could be limited
-Tax Credits to those on a low income with children and disabilities
-Childcare provision was extended, and by 2007, all 3-4 year-olds were entitled to 12.5 hours per week of free nursery education
-Pension credits to women that were unable to work because of caring responsibilities
-The Social Exclusion Unit was set up in 1997
-Blair, in 1999, pledged to end child poverty in 20 years, and through policies like child tax credit, had brought it down by a quarter by 2005
-The Connexions service was created to advise teenagers about the choices they had when they left school
-New Labour aimed for 50% of young people to go to university
-The number of young people going to university soared during Blair’s time as PM (2.4 million in 2004, double the numbers in 1990, and the number of women in higher education in 2006 was twice the number for 1995 and seven times greater than in 1970), although Blair’s government also introduced tuition fees as a means of paying for this.
-The Number of NEETs (16-24-year-olds not in Education, Employment or Training) had increased to almost 20% by 2007
-There were growing fears of youth crime, despite crime going down overall. ASBOs were introduced and although not solely aimed at young people, by 2005 46% of ASBOs went to under 17-year-olds
-The gap between the rich and poor actually grew wider under Blair

Question 7

Blair’s Trade Union policy

Answer 7

-New Labour did not want to repeal the trade union legislation of the Conservatives
-Some trade unions were highly critical of some Labour policies, such as outsourcing and PFI, which had been introduced by the Conservatives

Question 8

Privatisation under Tony Blair

Answer 8

-Labour extended privatisation
-Labour sold off The Air Traffic Control organisation, and there was even talk of privatising Royal Mail

Question 9

Blair’s economy

Answer 9

-Labour inherited a booming economy
-Blair reduced unemployment to under 6%
-Labour gave the bank of England independence
-Increased investment in public services
-Budget deficits by 2007
-Average GDP growth was 2.2% from 1997-2007. This had been 3.1% from 1990-1997

Question 10

Education under Blair

Answer 10

-Between 1997 and 2007 the Labour government raised the amount spent on education to 5.6% of GDP
-1000 new schools were opened during Blair’s 10 years as PM
-By 2007, the number of qualified teachers in state schools had risen by 35,000, supplemented by a rise in Teaching Assistants and other support staff to 170,000
-Class sizes were reduced
-Labour kept the ‘targets’, inspections and league tables introduced by the Conservative governments, and introduced performance related pay

Question 11

The NHS under Blair

Answer 11

-Waiting lists came down
-Increased spending
-More money for doctors and nurses
-There was more accountability for patients
-However, Blair was disappointed by the slow rate of change

Question 12

Blair’s foreign policy

Answer 12

-Europe
-Sierra Leone in 2000
-Kosovo in 1999
-The Iraq War in 2003
-The ‘Special Relationship’

Question 13

Blair and Sierra Leone in 2000

Answer 13

-The rebels (RUF) were committing mass atrocities in Sierra Leone
-Britain sent a helicopter carrier, several ships and 800 paratroopers
-The rebel forces were removed, and Britain suffered a minimal loss of life (one person died)
-A success for Blair

Question 14

Blair and Kosovo in 1999

Answer 14

-In 1999, Blair convinced NATO and the US President, Bill Clinton, to intervene militarily in Kosovo
-NATO bombing raids targeted Serbian forces in Kosovo
-Milosevic eventually withdrew his forces as a result of their efforts
-Some of the bombs hit civilian targets
-However, overall, it was a success for Blair

Question 15

Blair and the Iraq War in 2003

Answer 15

-Iraq was being monitored by air patrols in 2002
-There was no clear evidence that Hussein was developing WMD’s, or that he was linked to Al-Qaeda
-Blair used an intelligence dossier in 2002 to justify going to war in Iraq, however there were claims that the dossier had been exaggerated, and “sexed up”
-The dossier stated that Saddam Hussein was developing WMD’s, and that he was a threat to the peace
-A million people marched against the war
-After the invasion, no WMD’s were found in Iraq
-Dr David Kelly, who had exposed the government for exaggerating the dossier in 2002, committed suicide in 2003
-Minimal British deaths
-100,000 civilian deaths
-There was very little planning for the future of Iraq

Question 16

Blair’s European policy

Answer 16

-Amsterdam 1997: Blair abandoned Britain’s opt-out of the ‘Social Policy’
-St Malo Treaty of 1998: Britain withdrew its objection to a common European defence policy
-Blair wanted closer European integration, and wanted Britain to become central in European issues
-Blair spoke of a ‘Third Way’, where nations kept their sovereignty, but collaborated on issues of common political and economic interest
-Brown laid down 5 tests that the euro would have to pass in order for Britain to adopt the Euro, however, by 2003, it had failed to meet these tests, and was therefore abandoned
-Blair took enthusiastic leadership roles on issues such as climate change and world trade
-Blair insisted that Britain would not give up their rebate in 2004, but the following year in 2005, when the rest of the EU demanded that Britain gave up the rebate, Blair complied
-Blair had helped to expand the EU to 27 states by 2007

Question 17

Blair and the ‘Special Relationship’

Answer 17

-Blair and the US President, George Bush, collaborated closely over the Iraq War in 2003
-Blair and Bush shared very similar anti-terrorist policies
-Blair’s close relationship with the right-wing president, George Bush, damaged him politically among the Labour voters
-Britain was seen as “America’s poodle” by many, due to their reliance on the USA

Question 18

What was Blair’s ‘liberal interventionism’?

Answer 18

-War was justified in order to enforce universal values, not just as a response to aggression or because of narrow self-interest

Question 19

Race relations from 1997-2007

Answer 19

-This period saw an increase in diversity in Britain
-East Anglia, which was almost 100% white British in 2004, was 10% Eastern European a decade later
-The terror attacks of 9/11 and 7/7 raised questions about the integration of Muslim communities into Britain
-Britain’s bid in 2005 to host the 2012 Olympics, in London, showed the multiculturalism of Britain
-The National Identity Cards were created in 2006
-The Terrorist Act of 2006

Question 20

Why did Labour win the 2001 election?

Answer 20

-William Hague found it difficult to be take seriously
-Hague was young (only 36) and had limited political experience
–Hague did not have a big following within the Conservative Party
-However, Hague was an excellent debater and an impressive public performer
-Blair’s popularity and skill with the media
-It was difficult for the Conservatives to attack the Labour party economic policies, as they were so similar to their own
-Divisions between the ‘mods’ and ‘rockers’ within the Conservative Party
-Labour ran a strong campaign focusing on people’s hatred for Thatcher
-Hague retreated into right-wing positions

Question 21

The 2001 election results

Answer 21

-Labour had 413 seats
-The Conservatives had 166 seats

Question 22

Why did Labour win the 2005 election?

Answer 22

-The Conservatives had initially supported the war in Iraq, so could not use it against the Labour Party
-The Iraq War had weakened Blair
-There were growing divisions between ‘Brownite’ and ‘Blairite’ factions in the Labour Party
-Blair was skillfully backed by spin-doctors, such as Alistair Campbell
-Blair was still a largely popular leader
-Howard was associated with the right-wing politics of Thatcher and Major
-The FPTP electoral system helped Blair
-Ian Duncan Smith had re-opened divisions over Europe within the Conservative Party
-Ian Duncan Smith was no match for Blair at PM Q’s
-The Conservatives were seen as “old-fashioned”