1997-2007 Flashcards
How did Blair appeal to the public?
-Charismatic and comfortable with the media
-performed well in Parliament
-portrayed himself as an ordinary person (wore casual clothes and supported his local football team)
-Was in touch with the electorate- paid tribute to Diana after she died and used the phrase “the peoples princess”
what was the third way?
a term used to describe a middle way between the socialism of old labour which championed the role of the state and the Thatcherite policies of the Conservative policies which favoured the market
What were Blairs policies like? (The third way)
-didnt want to reverse many of Thatchers and Major policies
-accepted cons parties TU reform
-didnt renationalise private industries
-argued it didnt matter whether it was state, or private companies or charities which delivered public services as long as the quality of the services was what users wanted
what did critics say about Blair?
-he didnt stand for anything
-dropped traditional labour policies and accepted Thatcherite ideas just to win power
describe the Blair-Brown relationship
-Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer and had control over economic policy
-Brown was too popular and successful within the party so Blair couldn’t remove him despite ongoing tension
-Browns supporters put pressure on Blair to step down so Brown could step up
-Blair-Brown partnership and its role in the creation and government of New Labour was very important and help to explain its success
what were the 3 types of constitutional reform Blair introduced?
-Devolution
-Parliament
-Citizens Rights
How was Devolution reformed?
-1997 Labour Manifesto promised new referendums on devolution- led to Scottish Parliament being established at Edinburgh and a welsh assembly in Cardiff- hoped that granting devolution would take away political momentum of the nationalist parties:SNP and Plaid Cymru but they continued to gain support
-1998 devolution in NI introduced as part of good Friday agreement
-1999 introduction of elected mayor in London
-2000 Blair blocked Livingstone from standing as labour candidate because he represented all that was wrong with the loony left of 1980s- feared would harm labour image of modernisation. Livingstone left party and won independently- Blair forced to accept him back into the party
-2004 Referendum in the North East as part of plans to introduce further regional assemblies in addition to London- Voters rejected devolution and plans to extend it further were halted
How was the Parliament reformed?
-1998 Commission set up to examine alternative voting systems made its report. Recommended replacing the first past the post system with something more proportional-no changes made
-1999 Attempts to reform House of Lords to make it more democratic led to a compromise in which hereditary peers were not abolished but cut to 92-seen as unsatisfactory by almost everyone
how were citizens rights reformed?
-1998 Human rights act Brought European Convention on Human rights into British law. Was designed to prevent government overreach and human right abuses. Sometimes caused difficulties for the government eg 2004 gov was forced to amend anti-terror legislation which allowed indefinite detainment of UK non-nationals suspected of terrorist activates. House of Lords said this was incompatible with HR act
-2000 Freedom of Information act gave people the right to request information from public bodies. By 2006, over 100,000 request were being made annually. Blair called himself a naive foolish irresponsible nincompoop for passing it as it prevented politicians from making difficult decisions because their actions would become public knowledge
SOCIAL REFORMS- Education?
-Campaign Slogan: “Education, education, education”
-kept league tables and inspections introduced by Major
-extended targets and encouraged creation of more specialist schools
SOCIAL REFORMS-Crime?
-campaign slogan “tough on crime, tough of the causes of crime”
-measures made to reduce social exclusion but this was paired with longer prison sentences
SOCIAL REFORMS- Health?
-campaign had promised more investment and more accountability for patients with a promise to cut waiting times for operations
-July 2001 Special delivery unit set up to ensure reforms were implemented by setting targets
-Blair was disappointed with slow rate of change and said he should have been more radical earlier
What crises did the government face?
-2000 Blockade by farmers and lorry drivers because of rising fuel prices led to fears of shortages and long queues at petrol stations
-2001 Foot and mouth disease led to a cull of 10m cattle and sheep, hitting farmers badly-ppl in countryside felt that labour was too urban and didnt properly understand their issues
-Battles with House of Lords and countryside alliance over the ban of hunting with dogs. Alliances organised march which 1/2m people attended. Ban passed in 2004
After the 1997 election, what Thatcherite principles did Brown want to continue to follow economically?
-keep inflation low
-keep government spending under control
-be pro-business
-set rules on gov borrowing
What did Brown want to move away from?
Labours image as tax and spend
