Reasons for Labour victory, 1997

Question 1

When was Clause IV formally abolished?

Answer 1

Clause IV was formally abolished at the Easter 1995 party conference.

Question 2

By what year was the 1983 manifesto ditched?

Answer 2

Following a policy review in 1987, much of the 1983 manifesto was ditched by 1988.

Question 3

How did Kinnock show a split with the TUs?

Answer 3

Kinnock signalled a split with the trade unions by ending the Labour Party’s support for ‘closed shop’ union agreements by 1989

Question 4

When did Smith introduce One Member; One Vote (OMOV) for parliamentary candidates?

Answer 4

Smith introduced One Member; One Vote (OMOV) for parliamentary candidates in 1993.

Question 5

When did John Smith die and how old was he?

Answer 5

John Smith died in 1994, at the age of 51.

Question 6

When did Blair become leader?

Answer 6

Blair became leader on 21 July 1994.

Question 7

Who ran the behind the scenes focus groups, which aimed to help monitor public opinion?

Answer 7

Philip Gould controlled behind the scenes focus groups that helped to monitor public opinion.

Question 8

What was ‘Cool Britannia’?

Answer 8

‘Cool Britannia’: an already existing journalistic term appropriated by New Labour to describe how fashionable and in touch it was as a movement.

Question 9

What term did Blair use to condemn everything that challenged his idea of progress?

Answer 9

‘forces of conservatism: a blanket term, first used by Blair in a speech in 1999 to condemn everything that challenged his idea of progress.

Question 10

What percentage of the vote did the Conservatives recieve in 1995?

Answer 10

The Conservatives received 30.7% of the vote in 1997.

Question 11

What percentage of the vote did Labour receive in 1997?

Answer 11

Labour recieved 43.2% of the vote in 1997.

Question 12

How many seats did Labour win in 1997?

Answer 12

Labour won 418 seats in 1997 - a working majority of 179.

Question 13

How many seats did the Conservatives win in 1997?

Answer 13

The Conservatives won 166 seats in 1997 - their worst defeat since 1823.

Question 14

How many seats did the Lib Dem gain in 1997 from 1987?

Answer 14

The Lib Dems gained 23 seats in 1997 from 1987. Shows tactically voting.

Question 15

When did the government lose a key vote on Maastricht?

Answer 15

In July 1993, a large group of Euro-sceptic Conservative MPs defeated a key government Bill concerning Maastricht.

Question 16

What was Major’s majority by 1993?

Answer 16

By 1993, Major had a majority of 18.

Question 17

When did Major announce he would resign as Conservative Leader?

Answer 17

On June 22nd 1995, John Major announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party, though not as Prime Minister

Question 18

Who challenged Major for the 1995 leadership contest?

Answer 18

The Prime Minister’s sole challenger was John Redwood MP in the 1995 leadership contest.

Question 19

Who said ‘‘I lead my party, he follows his’ in 1995?

Answer 19

Tony Blair said in 1995, in the leadership contest, ‘I lead my party, he follows his’.

Question 20

Why did David Mellor resign in 1992?

Answer 20

Heritage minister David Mellor resigned in 1992 over an affair with a Spanish actress.

Question 21

Why did Tim Yeo resign in 1994?

Answer 21

Environment minister, Tim Yeo, resigned in 1994 after it was revealed he had had an affair with a Conservative local councillor that had produced a child.

Question 22

What happened with ‘Cash for Questions’?

Answer 22

In 1994, ‘The Guardian’ accused Neil Hamilton, a government minister, of having received brown envelopes stuffed with money from Mohammed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods, who hoped to obtain special favours in return (such as favourable questions in the House of Commons). Hamilton denied this ‘cash for questions’ scandal and he sued the newspapers for libel. He lost, but refused to resign as an MP. In the 1997 election, Martin Bell, a BBC correspondent, stood against Hamilton in his constituency, with the aim of highlighting corruption in government circles. Labour and the Liberal Democrats agreed to not put up candidates in the constituency. Bell won by 11,000. The whole affair was a severe embarrassment to Major. It was all the more damaging because it was in the news for so long, right through to the 1997 election campaign and stopped Major’s government from disassociating itself with ‘sleaze’. Bell’s campaign dominated evening news bulletins throughout the election.

Question 23

How many new female MPs were there elected in 1997?

Answer 23

In 97, 101 new female MPs were elected.