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The 2001 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 June 2001, four years after the previous election on 1 May 1997, to elect 659 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by the prime minister Tony Blair was re-elected to serve a second term in government with another landslide victory with a 165-seat majority, returning 412 members of Parliament versus 418 from the previous election, a net loss of six seats, although with a significantly lower turnout than before—59.4%, compared to 71.6% at the previous election.
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and style of management while in office. Proponents of Thatcherism are referred to as Thatcherites. The term has been used to describe the principles of the British government under Thatcher from the 1979 general election to her resignation in 1990. In international terms, Thatcherites have been described as a part of the general socio-economic movement known as neoliberalism, with different countries besides the United Kingdom sharing similar policies around expansionary capitalism.
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, known between 1960 and 1963 as The Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the Member of Parliament for Bristol South East and Chesterfield for 47 of the 51 years between 1950 and 2001. He later served as President of the Stop the War Coalition from 2001 to 2014.
New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid- to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen in a draft manifesto which was published in 1996 and titled New Labour, New Life for Britain. It was presented as the brand of a newly reformed party that had altered the old Clause IV and instead endorsed market economics. The branding was extensively used while the party was in government between 1997 and 2010. New Labour was influenced by the political thinking of Anthony Crosland and the leadership of Blair and Brown as well as Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell's media campaigning. The political philosophy of New Labour was influenced by the party's development of Anthony Giddens' Third Way which attempted to provide a synthesis between capitalism and socialism. The party emphasised the importance of social justice, rather than equality, emphasising the need for equal opportunity and believed in the use of markets to deliver economic efficiency and social justice.
In British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known as Blairites. It entered the New Penguin English Dictionary in 2000. Elements of the ideology include investment in public services, expansionary efforts in education to encourage social mobility, and increased actions in terms of mass surveillance alongside a ramping up of law enforcement powers, both of these latter changes advocated in the context of fighting organized crime and terrorism. Blairites have additionally been known for their contrast with the traditional support for socialism by those believing in left-wing politics, with Blair himself and others speaking out against the nationalisation of major industries and against also heavy regulations of business operations. On foreign policy, Blairism is supportive of close relations with the United States and liberal interventionism, including advocacy for both the Iraq war and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).
Alun Edward Michael is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative retired politician. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1998 to 1999 and then as the first First Secretary of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 1999 to 2000. He went on to serve as South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 to 2024.
Essex man and Mondeo man are stereotypical figures which were popularised in 1990s Britain. The "Essex man" as a political figure is an example of a type of median voter and was used to help explain the electoral successes of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. The closely related "Mondeo man" was identified as the sort of voter the Labour Party needed to attract to win the election in 1997. Basildon man and woman are narrower terms being used synonymously.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect 646 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by the prime minister Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the second Labour leader after Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its majority fell to 66 seats; the majority it won four years earlier had been of 167 seats. The UK media interpreted the results as an indicator of a breakdown in trust in the government, and especially in Blair.
Blatcherism is a term formed as a portmanteau of the names of two British politicians, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. It has been used by critics of monetarism and economic liberalism to refer to the thesis that a policy model of the Thatcher government, distinct from one-nation conservatism, was resurrected when Blair came to power. It echoed "Butskellism", frequently used to describe the post-war consensus on a mixed economy with moderate state intervention to promote social goals, particularly in education and health.
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997 and held various shadow cabinet posts from 1987 to 1994. Blair was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007, and was special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East from 2007 to 2015. He is the second-longest-serving prime minister in post-war British history after Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Labour politician to have held the office, and the first and only person to date to lead the party to three consecutive general election victories.
"Tony's Cronies" was a term in British politics and media given to people who were viewed as being given positions of power because of their personal friendships with Prime Minister Tony Blair, during his premiership between 1997 and 2007. These included those granted life peerages and public positions based on their friendship with Blair rather than their individual merits. The phrase was created by the Conservative Party following the 1997 general election and was continually used in the media throughout Blair's premiership.
The Deal is a 2003 British television film directed by Stephen Frears from a script by Peter Morgan, based in part upon The Rivals by James Naughtie. The film depicts the Blair–Brown deal, a well-documented pact that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown made, whereby Brown would not stand in the 1994 Labour leadership election so that Blair could have a clear run at becoming leader of the party and later Prime Minister. The film begins in 1983, as Blair and Brown are first elected to Parliament, and ends in 1994 at the Granita restaurant—the location of the supposed agreement—with a brief epilogue following the leadership contest.
The Trial of Tony Blair is a satirical drama depicting war crimes proceedings brought against former British Prime Minister Tony Blair by an international tribunal, following his departure from 10 Downing Street. Directed by Simon Cellan Jones, it was first aired on More4 on 15 January 2007 and repeated on 5 March 2007 and during Blair's last week as Prime Minister on 23 June 2007.
Tony Blair's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 2 May 1997 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding John Major of the Conservative Party, and ended on 27 June 2007 upon his resignation. He was also the Leader of the Labour Party. He and Gordon Brown both extensively used the New Labour branding while in office, which was presented as the brand of a newly reformed party that had altered Clause IV and endorsed market economics. He is the second-longest-serving prime minister in post-war British history after Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Labour politician to have held the office, and the first and only person to date to lead the party to three consecutive general election victories.
Not flash, just Gordon was an advertising slogan and campaign used by the British Labour Party in September and October 2007. The campaign was created by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in preparation for a speculated snap general election after Labour Party leader Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister in June. The campaign intended to win over the electorate by implicitly comparing Brown with Blair, dissociating the former from the latter's demonstrative self-presentation, and also implicitly compared Brown with Conservative Party leader David Cameron. It made Brown's perceived awkward persona a strength and his perceived lack of charisma and limited communication skills a virtue. The campaign ended after Brown said he would not call a snap election on 6 October.
SirKeir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and barrister who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 5 July 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. A lifelong member and supporter of the Labour Party, he previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 5 July 2024, has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, and was Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013.
In British politics, Brownism is the social democratic political ideology of the former Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party Gordon Brown and those that follow him. Proponents of Brownism are referred to as Brownites.
A Journey is a memoir by Tony Blair of his tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Published in the UK on 1 September 2010, it covers events from when he became leader of the Labour Party in 1994 and transformed it into "New Labour", holding power for a party record three successive terms, to his resignation and replacement as prime minister by his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Blair donated his £4.6-million advance, and all subsequent royalties, to the British Armed Forces charity the Royal British Legion. It became the fastest-selling autobiography of all time at the bookstore chain Waterstones. Promotional events were marked by anti-war protests.
"One more heave" was a slogan used by British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe during the October 1974 general election and a phrase used to describe the political strategy of John Smith, leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death in May 1994.
One Nation Labour refers to the theme and branding of the British Labour Party adopted by the party in 2012 under the leadership of Ed Miliband. Miliband described the "One Nation" term as being related to British Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's idea of One Nation conservatism. Disraeli claimed a need for government to reduce economic inequality, which he believed was splitting Britain into two nations of rich and poor people. Miliband stated that the theme of One Nation was shared by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Miliband has declared inspiration from Disraeli's and Attlee's One Nation theme, in that it challenges social barriers of class and promotes the unity of Britain.
References
- ↑ "Tony Blair 1953– British Labour statesman, Prime Minister 1997—2007". Tony Blair. Oxford Essential Quotations (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. 2018. ISBN 9780191866692 . Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ↑ Loveday, Barry (1 April 1999). "Tough on Crime or Tough on the Causes of Crime? An Evaluation of Labour's Crime and Disorder Legislation". Crime Prevention and Community Safety . 1 (2): 7–24. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cpcs.8140012. ISSN 1743-4629.
