Blair (PM case study) Flashcards
What had 18 years of opposition made some commentators believe about the Labour party?
That it was dead and would never win office again
What three things had made people lose confidence in the conservatives?
- Scandals
- Division
- 1992 recession
What three things did Blair do to reassure voters?
- Build a strong, modern media image
- Adopted centrist policies
- Kept the party unified
List Blair’s three parliamentary majorities
- 1997: 179
- 2001: 167
- 2005: 66
What two ideas did the third way position itself in between?
- The radically right-wing and neo-liberal policies of Thatcher
- The more socialist ideas from the left wing of the Labour party
Why was Blair able to become party leader in 1994?
Because John Smith, the original founder of New Labour, died
Who led the small minority of left wingers during Blair’s time as party leader?
Jeremy Corbyn
When did events begin to divide New Labour?
2003-2004
List Blair’s key policy goals
- Extensive programme of constitutional reform
- Sharp, sustained increases on health and education spending
- Increased welfare for those genuinely unable to support themselves
- Introducing a national minimum wage
- Introducing tax credits to avoid child poverty
- Granting the BoE independence to allow for more rational financial policies
- Balancing the budget
- Active, interventionist foreign policy
- Closer links with Europe without joining the eurozone
- Reducing business taxes to promote economic growth
How did Blair delegate power to a key cohort of New Labour figures?
Brown took control of economic policy, Jack Straw and Harriet Harman took control of social policy, while Blair himself focused on foreign policy
Why did Blair’s popularity within the party begin to wane after 6-7 years?
It was thought he had over stepped his authority by adopting a more singular style of leadership
Where had Blair overseen two successful overseas military campaigns?
Sierra Leone and Kosovo
What made the first part of Blair’s tenure so successful?
He oversaw a sustained period of economic growth that allowed the provision of health and education services to improve
How did Blair achieve success in NI?
The GFA established a peaceful power-sharing government
What led many to see Blair as a liar?
It was revealed that the claims that Hussein’s regime had acquired WMDs were false
Why was the aftermath of the Iraq war bad for Blair’s reputation?
The area fell into widespread sectarian strife after the fall of the Hussein regime
What led many people in the Labour party to oppose Blair?
Inequality was increasing during a period of Labour government
Who did the internal opposition rally behind?
Gordon Brown
Why did Blair step down and recommend Brown replace him?
To prevent a divisive leadership contest from destroying the party
Give 5 examples of Blair being in control
- Showed he was in control of foreign policy by making decisions on military intervention
- Sofa politics allowed him to impose his policy initiatives on cabinet
- Suffered no defeats in the commons for his first 8 years due to having two consecutive large majorities
- Showed control over the lords by invoking the parliament act to overrule them on the issue of fox hunting
- Able to keep the party unified and impose his agenda upon the party for his first two terms
Give 5 instances where Blair was not in control
- His reputation and standing suffered after Iraq
- Blair had to have Brown’s support on any initiative and he had to grant him independence and control of the treasury
- Four defeats in the commons from Nov 2005-Jul 2006
- Suffered 353 lords defeats during his first 8 years as PM
- Divisions between New and Old Labour factions began to emerge after 2005, as well as divisions between the Blairites and the Brownites
What did Blair prefer to cabinet meetings?
Bilateral meetings in which he agreed policy objectives with individual ministers
How were decisions made in the sofa politics model?
Through informal meetings with an inner circle of advisors
What did Blair want to improve using sofa politics?
Policy coordination and delivery
What two things did the third way combine?
Free market economics and social justice
Describe Blair’s idea of free market economics
Privatisation, efficiency savings in the public sector, low taxes and control of inflation
Describe Blair’s idea of social justice
The national minimum wage, reducing child poverty and increasing welfare spending
What process did Blair play a key role in?
The NI peace process
How did Blair modernise British politics/
Through an extensive programme of constitutional reform
List the 5 major constitutional reforms brought in by New Labour
Devolution, lords reform, new electoral systems, Supreme Court, HRA
Why is it wrong to attribute the praise for constitutional reform to Blair?
He did not play a great role in policy initiative or design. He inherited the idea from John Smith and was aided by a cabinet committee of Lid Dems. Blair personally was not that interested in constitutional reform and killed off proposals for a new electoral system for Westminster or devolution to the English regions. Changes to the role of lord chancellor were botched and Blair case to regret the 2000 FOI Act
Why are people correct to praise Blair for the NI peace process?
Because he did play a notable role in it; sidelining the secretary of state for NI, Mo Mowlam, and offering personal guarantees on weapons decommissioning and prisoner releases
How did Blair come under pressure in his second term?
He faced rebellions from Labour MPs about Iraq, foundation hospitals and tuition fees. His reputation suffered in 2003 as a result of Iraq and opinion polls subsequently fell
How did Blair’s time as PM come to an end?
He announced that he would be stepping down at the start of his third term - massively undermining his authority within the party. He jumped before he was pushed in 2007
How did Blair announcing his upcoming resignation undermine his authority?
Because Labour MPs no longer saw a reason to defer to him, as someone else would be the party leader in the near future
What was Blair’s main policy success?
Constitutional reform
What was Blair’s main policy failure?
The invasion of Iraq
How did Blair and Bush differ in their reasoning behind invading Iraq?
Bush wanted to remove Hussein, whereas Blair was focused on destroying WMDs
What was the problem with Blair’s justification for invading Iraq?
Rested upon intelligence reports that Iraq could launch WMDs within 45 minutes. However, the WMDs were never found and these intelligence reports were later discredited
What was the consequence of the invasion of Iraq for Blair?
Opinion polls showed a sharp rise in distrust of Blair and his standing within the party fell
What happened in Iraq after Hussein was killed?
It descended into anarchy
What did a report by Lord Butler find about the invasion of Iraq?
That cabinet ministers were denied access to key papers and that Blair’s preference for sofa politics had reduced the scope for collective government
What was the result of the 2016 Chilcot report?
- Other policy options had not been explored
- Blair had disregarded warnings about the intelligence reports and the potential consequences of military invasion
- The cabinet had not considered the legal advise carefully enough
- Highlighted the need for frank and informed ministerial discussion
What made the Blair government particularly unique?
The extent of the influence of Gordon Brown over the party. Blair and Brown both had their own ‘courts’ where they were especially influential. For instance, Brown had massive control over welfare and social policy that was unprecedented for other chancellors
Give two examples of Blair and Brown coming into conflict
- They would often disagree over policy and have to bargain
- It was the Brownites who ultimately forced Blair out of office?
What did Blair do to instantly assert his authority as labour party leader?
Stated his intention to revise the labour party constitution and abolish clause IV at his first labour party conference
How did Blair and Brown instantly assert their authority in 1997?
They gave the BoE the freedom to set interest rates the day after the GE
Why did Blair experience his first backbench rebellion?
47 backbenchers rebelled against his decision to cut benefits for single parents in 1997
How many people marched through London in protest against the Iraq war?
1,000,000
Who quit as commons leader over Iraq?
Robin Cook
How many Labour MPs voted against invading Iraq?
139
When did Blair suffer his first commons defeat?
Over the terrorist act in 2005
