1997-2007 (KO) Flashcards
What was the slogan ‘New Labour‘?
Used for the 1994 Labour Party conference, became the name for the party from then onwards.
What were ‘life peers’?
Members of the House of Lords who were appointed to their positions, not inheriting them
What is a savings ratio?
The annual percentage of an individual’s income saved rather than spent.
What is a client state?
A society in which significant numbers of the population work for the government
Who were the WTO?
The world trade organisation, an international body monitoring the negotiation of trade agreements between countries
What was New Labour’s ‘Third way’?
Suggestion of creating balance between left and right extremes
What is the Eurozone?
Countries that gave up their national currencies for the Euro
Who was responsible for 9/11?
Al-Qaeda
What is the JIC?
- Joint intelligence committee
- Government body responsible for providing ministers with national security information
Who are the Jihadists?
Self-proclaimed warriors in the defence of their version of Islam
When was Labour’s election victory?
1997
When was the Good Friday agreement
1998
When was NATO intervention in Kosovo?
1999
When did Britain sell off half its gold reserves?
1999
When was Blair’s third way speech?
2000
When did Labour win their second successive election?
2001
When was 9/11?
2001
When was the euro adopted by the EU?
2002
When did Blair argue for reform of CAP
2004
When was the treaty of Rome?
2004
When was the treaty of Rome?
2004
When did Labour win their third successive election?
2005
When were the 7/7 London bombings?
2005
When was the St Andrews Agreement?
2006
When did Blair concede over rebate and CAP reform?
2006
When is the Treaty of Lisbon?
2007
When does Brown become PM?
2007
When was the Northern Ireland Executive formed?
2007
How many seats did Labour win in the 1997 election?
418
How many seats did Labour win in the 2001 election?
413
How many seats did Labour win in the 2005 election?
356
What is the election analysis for the Labour victory in the 2001 election?
- Blair’s continued personal popularity with voters
- Hague’s inability to present himself as a good alternative.
- Blair’s NI success
- Trust in Brown as a prudent chancellor
What is the election analysis for the 2005 election?
- Blair still the outstanding choice despite Iraq
- Conservatives had supported Iraq so couldn’t win on that point
- Knowledge of economic difficulties had not yet emerged
- Blairs spin doctors
- Conservative flop - three different leaders in two years, Howard’s bad choice of issues to fight the campaign on.
What were five key elements of New Labour’s policy?
- no longer pursue class based - policy
- appeal to the middle classes and business world
- abandon Clause IV (nationalisation)
- Maintain legal restrictions on trade unions
- Accept some elements of Thatcherism
What were four key elements of New Labour’s progressive image?
- Cool Britannia
- Women MPs (Blair’s babes)
- Inclusiveness, suggesting a society with no ‘social exclusion’
- Stakeholder society - state protected pensions
What was Blairs view on Europe?
Deeply committed, wanted Britain at its heart.
What was the problem with the veto and Europe for Blair?
- Adopted of majority voting (dropping veto) left Britain isolated.
- Europe just wanted Britain to conform - did not want Blair’s ‘third way’
What happened with Britain and the Euro under Blair?
- Declined to join eurozone in 2002.
- Brown had stated five economic tests had to be met first and they weren’t.
What was the problem with Britain’s budgetary contribution with EU?
- Disproportionately large, so Blair tried to negotiate retention of Britain’s rebate.
- 2006 Blair gives up on the rebate issue.
What was the issue with the CAP policy and the EU?
- Britain was a net loser and Blair could not get reform.
- UK received 9% compared to France’s 22%.
How many directives (from the EU) did Britain accept without debate in 2006?
3000
Why did the British government not grant a referendum on the European constitution? What was this constitution contained in?
- It had not been successful in France and Denmark.
- 2004 Rome Treaty
What was the second treaty the government refused to hold a referendum on?
The Lisbon Treaty
What were the two key elements of New Labour economic policy (1997-2001)? How were these achieved?
- Limited government spending -> Labour kept within the spending plan set out by the Conservatives.
- Anti-inflationary -> the Bank of England given the authority to set interest rates.
What were four points of continuity between new Labour and Thatcherism?
- Insistence on accountability in public services
- Little effort to undo privatisation
- Maintained restrictions on trade unions
- Same industrial polices
What did new Labour constitutional do with devolution?
- Labour had made a commitment to devolution in its election manifesto
- Honoured this by created the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in 1998
What did Labour do with the House of Lords? How was this received?
- They had pledged reform by removing hereditary peers.
- They were criticised for packing it with their own appointees.
What new role did Labour create in London? Who was appointed and when?
- The Mayor of London
- Ken Livingstone appointed in 2000 (slightly controversial)!
What was Labour’s new deal?
Improved social policies for welfare
What was the WFA part of the new deal?
Winter Fuel allowance (1997) - universal payment of £100 for senior citizens
What was the NMWA part of the new deal?
National minimum wage act 1998 - £4.85 minimum hourly wage established.
What was the HRA part of the new deal?
Human Rights Act 1998 - aims to create a balance between powers of state and freedom of the individual.
What was the JA part of the new deal? How many claims did it have?
Jobseeker’s Allowance 1998 - 2.5 million between 2003 - 2008.
What was the FOIA part of the new deal?
Freedom of Information Act 2000 - public authorities had to grant ‘right of access’ to the information they held.
What was the WFTCACTC part of the new deal?
Working families tax credit and child tax credit 1998 - aimed to reduce child poverty (but also criticised for creating a dependency culture)
Who were the four Conservative leaders from 1997-2007?
- William Hague
- Iain Duncan Smith
- Michael Howard
- David Cameron
What stopped Hague, Smith, and Howard from posing any threat to Labour? How did Cameron change this?
- They failed to make any impact on the public.
- Cameron wanted to be more Blairite than Blair - no new policy, only Labour but better (apparently).
How was the Special Relationship furthered in this period?
Blair joined the USA to impose sanctions on Hussein to open his country to weapons inspections
How did New Labour feel about Europe?
Besties! Loved the social chapter vibes! Cute moment for workers.
What did critics of Blair say about the impact of his New Deal?
The gap between the rich and the poor had widened and that it was increasing dependency.
What were five acts extending the New Deal?
- Police reform Act (create greater sense of community)
- Repeal of section 28 (remove stigma on homosexuality)
- Civil Partnership Act
- Gender Recognition Act
- Employment Act (workers rights)
What was economic policy on spending from 2001? What was the result?
Prudence gave way to high public spending - inflation went from 2.4% in 1997 to 4.8% in 2007.
What was economic policy on pensions from 2001?
Government raid on pension funds - £8billion fall in pension values + savings ration falls from 9.7% in 1997 to 3.7% in 2007.
What was policy on employment? What were three results?
- 2.5 million more in work by 2007 than in 1997.
- 5.4 million still living on unemployment benefit.
- 37% of increase in jobs were in the unproductive public sector -> client state.
What was policy on borrowing from 2001? What were three results?
- borrow to fund expansion of public services
- Cost of services outran revenue returns leading to increased borrowing.
- Encouraged a consumer credit boom.
- Britain did poorly in the economic downturn in 2007.
What was Labour policy on Gold? What was the result?
- To sell off half of Britain’s gold reserves as prices were falling
- recovery of the gold market mean we made a heavy loss of £3billion - poor old Brown nicknamed ‘Golden Brown’ by tabloids (yikes!)
When was the Good Friday Agreement?
April 1998
What were three key elements of the Good Friday agreement?
- NI union with Britain is guaranteed.
- Republic of Ireland withdraws territorial claim to NI.
- NI assembly created.
What three terrorist event drove people to try and find a political solution?
- Omagh bombing
- 9/11
- 7/7
When did the IRA accept decommissioning? When did the UVF do the same?
2005 and 2006
What and when was the St Andrew’s Agreement?
- The DUP agree to share power with republicans and nationalists, and Sinn Fein accepted authority of NI police.
- Elections to be held in 2007.
- October 2006
When was the NI executive formed? What did it entail?
- May 2007
- British army withdraw from NI, and power-sharing all party executive is formed
What phenomenon occurred with the British population in this period? What problem did this cause?
- Increased size and distribution due to natural increase and immigration
- Ageing population caused increased demands on diminished revenue sources
What issues did the increased multiculturalism of this period cause?
Segregation and racism, with extremism and religious tensions, along which challenges to liberal values from some groups.
What extra-parliamentary groups grew in this period? What problem did this cause?
- Environmentalists and deniers
- Extremist groups
- Focus groups
- created pressure from authoritarian lobbies, resulting in democratic deficit
What social values declined in this period? What problems did this cause?
- traditional religion, scepticism about policy, parliament tainted by corruption.
- less ordered society with dispute over education and people isolated from parliament, along with low public standards.
When was 9/11? What happened?
- 11 September 2001
- USA subjected to deadly terror attack by Al-Qaeda, where commercial planed were hijacked and struck the twin towers - over 3000 died.
What was the Blair Doctrine?
Blair’s expression of his sense of mission to fight against tyranny - predated 9/11 but intensified after.
What was the ‘dodgy dossier’?
Information from the JIC suggesting Iraq had WMD which had the capacity to strike Britain within 45 minutes.
What was controversial about Britain invading Iraq with the USA in 2003? What was the public response?
They had bypassed the UN to do so - mass protest, and foreign secretary resigns.
What were the 7/7 bombings? How many died?
Four coordinated bombing attacks on the London tube system, killing 56
What was the issue once Hussein had been toppled?
Although the Iraqis celebrated, there was little plan of what to do post war.
What was the name of the man who committed suicide over the dodgy dossier?
David Kelly
What had Kelly confided to a journalist?
That the government had exaggerated the issue to justify the war
What inquiry investigated the government for responsibility for Kelly’s death?
The Hutton Inquiry
