1997-2007 Flashcards
Who was Prime Minister from 1997-2005?
Tony Blair
Blair’s strengths
-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
Blair’s weaknesses
-He was still educated in a private school
Blair’s ‘Third Way’
-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
Blair’s constitutional reform
-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
Blair’s ‘New Deal’
-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
Blair’s Trade Union policy
-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
Privatisation under Tony Blair
-Labour extended privatisation
-Labour sold off The Air Traffic Control organisation, and there was even talk of privatising Royal Mail
Blair’s economy
-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
Education under Blair
-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
The NHS under Blair
-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
Blair’s foreign policy
-Europe
-Sierra Leone in 2000
-Kosovo in 1999
-The Iraq War in 2003
-The ‘Special Relationship’
Blair and Sierra Leone in 2000
-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
Blair and Kosovo in 1999
-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
Blair and the Iraq War in 2003
-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
