New Labour 1990-2001: 6 Tony Blair's first administration 1997-2001 Flashcards
who was chancellor of the exchequer?
Gordon Brown
what authority was given to the Bank of England early under Blair?
authority to set interest rates
(could be interpreted as a way for the gov to avoid blame should mistakes be made later in the fixing of the rates)
what is devolution?
transfer of power from a large, central gov to smaller more localised regions of power e.g. Scotland and the UK
Labour committed to devolution - honouring the creation of a Scottish Parliament (1998) and a Welsh Assembly (1998)
how did the reform of the House of Lords pose issues for the government?
ended the right of unelected hereditary peers to sit in the upper house - problem as to what form the new chamber would take and what powers it would have
by 2001 Blair had created more life peers in his four years of governement than the Conservatives in their 18
who was the Mayor of London?
Ken Livingstone elected in May 2000
he was dynamic, independent and held office for 8 years
his personal style of leadership gave the mayoral role a high profile
what was Labour’s ‘New Deal’?
term applied to its social policies
little that was truly new in regard to social welfare
it built on existing structures but brought enthusiasm and freshness
what was the winter fuel allowance of 1997?
fuel allowance for senior citizens - initially granted £100 per person
was criticised on the grounds that as a universal payment made regardless of the recipient’s income it was wasteful of public money
what was the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998?
established £4.85 as the minimum hourly wage for adult workers
provision was made for that figure to be subsequently increased in line with the cost of living
immediately raised the wage of over 1.5 million workers
Conservatives initially opposed the measure as a threat to jobs
what was the Human Rights Act 1998?
intended to achieve ‘a better balance between rights and responsibilities, between the powers of the state and the freedom of the individual’ - oblige public authorities to be more attentive to the rights of ordinary people
aroused some controversy as it was essentially the UK putting itself under the pre-existing European Convention on Human Rights
what was the Jobseeker’s allowance 1998?
adjustment of the measure previously introduced by the Major gov in 1996 which had replaced the existing unemployment benefit and income support with a single jobseeker’s allowance
to qualify they claimants were required to show evidence that they were actively looking for work
Labour measures intended to streamline the system
2003-2008 - 2.5 million claims
what was the freedom of information act 2000?
came into force in 2005
required public authorities to grant ‘right of access’ to the information they held
ordinary citizens were entitled to be told what information an authority had and to ask for its disclosure if it did not breach rules of confidentiality
the Data Protection Act 1998 allowed individuals and organisations to deny access to sensitive information limited the effectiveness of the act
what were the working families tax credit and child tax credit of 1998?
aimed to reduce child poverty
working families tax credit - families with dependent children whose income from employment was below a certain level were entitled to a tax allowance in effect raising their wages
child tax scheme was intended to help single parents - paid on a sliding scale according to parental income and the number of dependent children
the two measures aimed to tackle ‘social exclusion’
what was the Social Exclusion Unit 1997?
set up to address the issue by integrating the various bodies and departments dealing with social welfare - it did not succeed but its work was highly useful in defining the character of the problem
confirmed that poverty was not simply an economic issue
how did New Labour benefit from Thatcherism?
Thatcher had weakened the trade unions, reintroduced the principle of accountability into the public services and made the nation acknowledge that in economic matters nothing was for nothing
how did Blair appear to foreign ministers?
likeable, admired by Clinton (though Clinton was grateful to Blair for offering his moral support in 1999 over his sexual misdemeanours)
