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History- Britain > The era of New Labour 1997-2007: Political > Flashcards

The era of New Labour 1997-2007: Political Flashcards

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1
Q

When was the term New Labour 1st declared and who by?

A

1994 by Tony Blair

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2
Q

Why was the term New Labour now being used?

A

To see the party realign its traditional manifesto offering of socially progressive policies alongside more free economic principles

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3
Q

What was the new ideology of New Labour branded as?

A

The 3rd way (mixture of post war consensus and Thatcherite economic policies)

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4
Q

Who was the Labour prime minister within this period?

A

Tony Blair (1997-2007)

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5
Q

What did New Labour aim to do?

A
  1. Appeal to all social classes
  2. Tried to capture new, young, white collar middle class voters who previously voted Conservative
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6
Q

How did New Labour achieve its aim?

A
  1. Accepting the market economy
  2. Allowing some public services to be built and delivered by private companies through PFI’s
  3. Aimed to reduce welfare dependency
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7
Q

What did New Labour abandon?

A
  1. Clause IV which committed the party to nationalism
  2. Loosened ties with trade unions
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8
Q

What was Blair’s popularity in an internal Labour Party poll?

A

93%

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9
Q

What did the Labour Party’s 1997 manifesto promise?

A

New referendums on devolution

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10
Q

What did Blair do to Ken Livingstone?

A
  • Blocked him from being the Labour candidate in the 2000 election as he represented all that was wrong with the 1980’s ‘loony left’ Labour Party (feared he would harm the New Labour image)
  • Livingstone ran as an independent and won the election
  • Blair was forced to accept Livingstone back into the party
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11
Q

What act was passed in 2000 and what did it lead to?

A
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • Gave people the right to request information from public bodies
  • by 2006 over 100,000 request were made each year
  • Blair later described this as a mistake
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12
Q

Were all 5 of Labour’s promises met?

A

Yes, they had been by 2001

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13
Q

How did the Labour government impact education?

A
  1. Kept the league tables and inspections introduced by Major
  2. Targets were extended
  3. More specialist schools were encouraged
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14
Q

How did the Labour government impact crime?

A
  1. Measures to reduce social exclusion (1 of the causes of crime)
  2. Longer prison sentences
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15
Q

How did the Labour government impact health?

A
  1. More teachers, doctors, nurses
  2. More accountability to parents and patients to ensure improving exam results and shorter waiting times for operations
    - Special delivery unit was set up in 2001 to ensure these reforms were implemented
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16
Q

What were some of the crisis’ the Labour government faced?

A
  1. Rising fuel prices led to a blockade in 2000 by farmers and lorry drivers
  2. People in the countryside felt that Labour was too urban and didn’t properly understand their issues
  3. Labour tried to ban hunting with dogs- led to large protests and the pressure group Countryside Alliance organised a march attended by 500,000 people in 2002
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17
Q

What were Brown’s initial economic priorities?

A
  1. Keep inflation low
  2. Keep government spending under control
  3. Prove Labour was pro business and could be trusted with running the economy
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18
Q

What did Brown do with government money in 2001?

A
  1. Put it into public services (new schools and hospitals)
  2. Pay rises for doctors, nurses, teachers (exam results went up and waiting lists went down)
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19
Q

How did Labour avoid raising taxes?

A

Continued to use private sources of funding for improvements to public spending

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20
Q

By 2007 what had Gordon Brown achieved?

A
  1. Inflation was kept under control
  2. Record numbers of people were in work
  3. Living standards were high
  4. Consumer economy boomed
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21
Q

What was Labour’s relationship with Northern Ireland?

A
  • Blair developed a close relationship with Irish Taoiseach
  • Labour secretary kept paramilitaries on board by visiting them in prison
  • Blair proved capable of reassuring ulster unionists that Sinn Fein could be trusted
22
Q

When was the Good Friday agreement?

A

1998

23
Q

What did the Good Friday agreement provide?

A
  1. Both the UK and the Irish Republic would give up their claim on Northern Ireland
  2. Links between Britain and the Republic of Ireland would be strengthened
24
Q

What were the reactions to the Good Friday agreement?

A
  1. 71% voted for the agreement in Northern Ireland and in the Republic 94% voted yes
  2. Leaders of Sinn Fein opposed it as they were nervous of a Republican backlash against them selling out
  3. Ulster unionists feared powerful negative influence of Democratic Unionist Party
  4. 1998 Omagh bombing: Carried out by Republicans in the Continuity IRA and killed 30 people
25
Q

What were some of the disagreements over between Blair and Northern Ireland?

A
  1. Whether the paramilitaries were decommissioning arms
  2. Early release of convicted terrorists
  3. The right of the Protestant Orange Order to march on its traditional routes
26
Q

Who were the 4 Conservative party leaders?

A
  1. William Hague (1997-2001)
  2. Ian Duncan Smith (2001-2003)
  3. Michael Howard (2003-2005)
  4. David Cameron (2005-2016)
27
Q

What was the Conservative election performance under William Hague?

A
  • Suffered a very heavy defeat in the 2001 election
  • Came 2nd to Labour by 246 seats
28
Q

What were Hague’s weaknesses/criticisms as a leader?

A
  1. Had very limited political experience
  2. People believed he only won because he had fewer enemies than his rivals
  3. He was unable to modernise the party
29
Q

What did Hague attempt to make the Conservative policies?

A

More socially inclusive, but after 1999 he diverted his concentration to the core Conservative vote

30
Q

What did Hague unify the Conservative party on?

A

Europe by ruling out entry into a single currency

31
Q

How was the Conservative party seen in Hague’s leadership?

A
  1. Very unpopular
  2. Uncaring
  3. Intolerant
  4. Old fashioned
  5. Obsessed with Europe
32
Q

Was Hague a Eurosceptic or a Europhile?

A

Eurosceptic (Preferred by MPs- 145/165 Conservative MPs were Eurosceptic)

33
Q

Was Ian Duncan Smith a eurosceptic or europhile?

A

Extremely eurosceptic (reopened divisions over Europe)

34
Q

What did Ian Duncan Smith argue for?

A

Compassionate conservatism to tackle poverty and deprivation

35
Q

What are some examples of Ian Duncan Smith being socially conservative?

A
  1. Voted against the repeal of section 28
  2. Voted against allowing unmarried couples to adopt
  3. Supported the invasion of Iraq
36
Q

What are Ian Duncan Smith’s weaknesses/criticisms as a leader?

A
  1. Portrayed as uncharismatic
  2. Heavily criticised over support of Iraq invasion
  3. Involved in a scandal concerning payments to his wife named ‘Betsygate’ in which he lost a vote of no confidence in 2003 by 90 votes to 75
  4. Some Conservative MPs plotted to get rid of him
  5. Reopened divisions over Europe
  6. Modernisers of the party refused to follow his policies
  7. Conservatives remained behind in opinion polls
37
Q

Why was Ian Duncan Smith heavily criticised for supporting the invasion of Iraq?

A

It made it difficult for the Conservative government to criticise the Labour government for this unpopular decision

38
Q

What was the result of the 2005 election for Michael Howard?

A

Conservatives faced a heavy defeat which led to Howard standing down as a leader (Labour had 247 more MPs)

39
Q

What did Michael Howard believe in?

A

Social Conservatism

40
Q

What did Michael Howard do to the Conservative party?

A
  1. Brought stability to it
  2. Promoted modernisers in the party
41
Q

What are Michael Howard’s weaknesses/criticisms as a leader?

A
  1. Struggled to compete with Blair in opinion polls
  2. Conservatives remained distrusted on key policy areas such as health and education
42
Q

Was David Cameron socially Conservative?

A

No- he was socially Liberal

43
Q

What did David Cameron set about to do to the Conservative party?

A
  1. Detoxify and modernise it
  2. Change its image
  3. Make it more inclusive and tolerant, no longer hostile to all kinds of social groups
44
Q

How did David Cameron try to change the Conservative party’s image?

A
  1. Promised the government would take the issue of climate change seriously
  2. Favoured gay rights
  3. Wanted to increase overseas aid
  4. Praised the NHS and promised the Conservative government would protect it
45
Q

What did David Cameron’s shadow chancellor promise to do?

A

Maintain Labour levels of spending on public services, effectively ruling out tax cuts

46
Q

How was the Conservative party viewed under David Cameron?

A
  1. Centrist
  2. Tolerant
  3. Outward looking
47
Q

Why did the Labour Party find it difficult to attack David Cameron’s Conservative government?

A
  1. Their popularity was declining
  2. Conservatives were looking electable again for the 1st time since 1997 as they now seemed to offer a credible alternative
48
Q

Why did David Cameron face opposition from Norman Tebbit?

A

He believed the new government was a rejection of Thatcherism

49
Q

How did David Cameron end the Conservative slump in the polls?

A

Formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010

50
Q

What are all of the reasons for the Conservative failure in the 2001 and 2005 election?

A
  1. Leadership failures
  2. Divisions in party over Thatcher/Europe/Social liberalism
  3. Failure to learn lessons from electoral defeats
  4. Resistance to reform
51
Q

How could William Hague’s leadership be seen as a reason of the Conservative electoral defeats in 2001 and 2005?

A
  1. Wasn’t taken seriously (mocked for wearing baseball cap and appearing at Notting Hill Carnival)
  2. Conservative party divisions and own personal weaknesses in opinion polls meant he had retreated to right wing policies to gain the core vote in 2001
  3. His leadership was undermined by Thatcher
52
Q

Why were the Conservatives defeated in the 2005 election?

A
  1. Support of Iraq war
  2. Party divisions appearing
  3. Michael Howard was associated with the previous Conservative governments of Major and Thatcher (voters found it hard to believe the party had changed)
  4. 2005 manifesto reinforced old Conservative image (tough on immigration and law, tax cuts, reduction to public sector)

History- Britain (21 decks)

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