Blair's New Britain 1997-2007 Flashcards
(54 cards)
1
Q
when and what was the House of Lords Act?
A
- 1999
- reduced hereditary peers from 750 to 92
- initially aimed to remove all
2
Q
when and what was the Scotland and Government of Wales Act?
A
- 1998
- devolved power away from Westminster
3
Q
when and what was the Freedom of Information Act?
A
- 2000
- public had more but still limited access to government information
4
Q
when and what was the Human Rights Act?
A
- 1998
- incorporated European Convention of human rights into UK law
5
Q
when was the first London Mayor elected and Greater London Authority founded?
A
- 2000
- first mayor = Ken Livingstone
6
Q
how much had education investment increased by 2007?
A
- 48%
- academies introduced in 2002 to replace failing schools
- literacy and numeracy rates improved especially in primary education
7
Q
when were and what were ABOS?
A
- ant-social behaviour orders
- introduced 1999
- 13,000 issued by 2005
- seen as counterproductive and controversial
8
Q
how much did NHS spending increase?
A
- doubled
- waiting times decreased
9
Q
when and what was the New Deal Programme?
A
- 1998
- £3.5billion spent to get the unemployed into work
10
Q
when and why were Surestart centres introduced?
A
- 1998
- to support families and early childhood
- 3,500 of them by 2007
11
Q
how long and who was the only chancellor?
A
- 1997-2007
- Gordon Brown
12
Q
when were the Bank of England given independence?
A
- 1997
- could now control interest rates
13
Q
what was Brown’s “golden rule”?
A
- only borrow to invest
- infrastructure funded via PFI (Private Finance Initiative)
14
Q
why did critics create the name, “Golden Brown”?
A
- Brow sold 60% of gold reserves
- raising £2.3billion
- but the value rocked after meaning he lost of on almost £10billion
15
Q
what was introduced to support low-income/working class families?
A
- tax credits
- 1999
- expanded in 2003
16
Q
how much did unemployment fall?
A
- from 7% in 1997
- to 5.4% in 2007
- still relatively high
- flexible, part-time, agency, 0 hour contract labour increased
- in work poverty increased and job insecurity
17
Q
what was inflation?
A
- near 2% target
- average of 2.5% per year
18
Q
when and what was the Good Friday Agreement?
A
- signed 10th April 1998
- ending 30 years conflict
- setup power-sharing assembly and executive between Northern Ireland and Ireland
19
Q
what were the results of Good Friday?
A
- 72% agreed in Northern Ireland
- 94% agreed in republic
20
Q
who visited Maize Prison to reassure IRA prisoners and when?
A
- Mo Mowlam
- Jan 1998
- without permission
21
Q
how was peace still fragile in Northern Ireland?
A
- assembly suspended multiple times 2002-2007
22
Q
when were paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland decommissioned?
A
- agreed in Good Friday
- IRA declared 2005
- loyalists resisted so much slower
23
Q
who led Good Friday negotiations?
A
- Senator George Mitchell (USA)
- Bertie Ahern = Irish PM (Blair made efforts to form good relations)
- David Trimble = UUP leader (Blair provided last-minute reassurance)
- Gerry Adams = Sinn Fein leader
- John Hume = SDLP leader
- Ian Paisley = DUP leader
24
Q
what was the post 1997 identity crisis? (Conservatives)
A
- after 97 defeat (worst since 1832) seen as outdated and divided
- Major legacy tainted by sleaze, ERM, divisions
- struggled to appeal to more centrist, modern electorate, shaped by New Labour success
25
who was Conservative leader 1997-2001?
- William Hague
- youngest leader since Pitt in 1936
- failed to resonate with electorate as too RW
- overly focused on euroscepticism and nationalism
- "Save the pound" slogan unpopular
- wore a baseball cap and talked of drinking when visiting Alton Towers 1997 too seem trendy but failed
- resigned after only gained 1 seat in 2001 GE
26
Conservative performance in 2001 GE
- only 166 seats vs Labour's 413
- voter turnout only around 60% = low enthusiasm all over
- focus on EU and immigration alienated, young, urban voters
- Labour benefit from stable economy, welfare reform, Northern Ireland peace
27
when was Ian Duncan Smith Conservative leader?
- 2001-03
- won leadership over Ken Clarke in 2001 despite no public profile
- traditional, moral, eurosceptic
- "A quiet man" speech failed to appeal
- uninspiring and ineffective as lost MP support
- outed by vote of no confidence in 2003
28
when was Michael Howard Conservative leader?
- 2003-05
- experienced figure from Thatcher era = restore discipline
- 2005 campaign focus on immigration and crime "are you thinking what we're thinking" failed
- moderately improved seat count by 35 but failed vs Labour dominance
- resigned after 2005 GE loss
29
Conservative performance in 2005 election
- gained 35 seats up to 198
- focus on immigration, crime, euroscepticism too narrow
- Labour weakened by Iraq and division (majority fell to 66)
- Cameron's rise after highlighted "need for change"
30
when was Cameron Conservative leader?
- 2005 onwards
- modernise = green policies, inclusivity, social liberalism
- emphasised NHS and environment
- "hug a hoodie" reflected social understanding
- speech at 2005 party conference, performed without prompts, impressed the party, granting him leadership
31
overall divisions of the Conservative's 1997-2007
- Europe = pro's vs eurosceptics that refused to back the Euro created an image of obsession
- struggled to engage with New Labour's social justice agenda
- Thatcherrite legacy = modernisers vs traditionalists
- by 2007 Conservatives more electable but Labour still dominate
32
when was the National Minimum Wage introduced?
-1999
- initially £3.60/hour but raised to £5.35/hour by 2007
- 2 million directly benefitted
33
what helped working mothers?
- Surestart
- tax credits
- child benefit reform
34
what was "Blair's Babes"?
- Labour's all female MP shortlists
- 1997 = 101 female Labour MP's
- 2005 = 128 female MP's overall
35
when was statutory maternity leave extended?
- 2007
- from 26 to 39 weeks paid
36
how much did the gender pay gap decrease by?
- roughly 12%
- but issue still persisted
37
when and what was the Race Relations Act?
- 2000
- forced public bodies to promote racial equality
38
when and where were key race riots?
- 2001
- Burnley, Oldham, Bradford
- showed ethnic segregation and lack of integration
39
what was increased immigration?
- due to introduction of 10 new states into the EU in 2004
- 500 thousand Eastern Europeans (mainly polish) entered by 2007
40
when and what were the 7/7 bombings?
- 2005
- British born Muslims bombed London
- 52 killed
41
when and what were Control Orders?
- 2005
- form of anti-terrorism measure
- under Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.
- allowed the Home Secretary to impose restrictions on individuals suspected of terrorism without conviction
42
when and what was the Education Maintenance Allowance?
- 2004
- up to £30/week for 16-18's in education
43
when were Tuition Fees introduced?
- 1998
- £1,000/year but increased to £3,000/year in 2004
- backbench rebelled
44
what was "liberal interventionism"?
- suggested moral duty to intervene in crisis
- mentioned in Chicago speech 24 April 1999
45
what was Blair's foreign policy goals?
- wanted leading global role via UN, EU, NATO, US alliance
- emphasised "ethical foreign policy"
- Robin Cook foreign secretary 1997-2001
46
2 positives of European relations
- supported enlargement and economic reform
- close to leaders Chirac and Schroder but kept distant on key issues
- European Constitution signed 2004 but never ratified due to French/Dutch referenda failures
47
a negative of European relations
- Brown blocked the Euro
- using 5 economic tests
- 2003 review confirmed its failure to meet the tests
48
positives of Special Relationship
- strong ties with Clinton but much closer with Bush after 9/11
- support for USA = cornerstone of UK foreign policy post-2001
- "shoulder to shoulder" with Bush
49
negatives of Special Relationship
- cooperation seen as controversial, especially after Iraq
- Blair accused of putting US interest ahead of what's best for the UK
50
when and what was the Kosovo conflict?
- 1999
- ethnic cleansing
- ended via NATO airstrikes
- Blair was a key figure and praised for humanitarian justification
51
when and what was the Sierra Leone conflict?
- 2000
- civil war
- UK troops ended it and protected the government
- restored Blair's reputation for foreign policy leadership
52
when and what was the Afghanistan War?
- 2001
- UK join US invasion to dismantle Al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban
- conflict ongoing by 2007
- Britain had 7 thousand troops deployed
53
when and what was the Iraq War?
- 2003
- Blair claimed Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
- claimed they could be mobilised in 45 minute in "sexed up dossier"
- no UN resolution by March 2003 as found no evidence
- parliament voted 412:419 in favour despite rebellion of 139 Labour MP's
- by 2007 no WMD found and 180 British killed
- mass protest = 1 million march through London Feb 2003
54
what was Britain's global position by 2007?
- excluded from Eurozone
- permanent UN Security Council Member
- active in NATO and G8
- Blair led 2005 G8 Gleneagles Summit, focusing on Africa and debt relief
- legacy of intervention shaped global perception
- reputation fell after Iraq as Blair loyal to Bush but his "poodle"
