The Blair Years
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair may not have had the most typical of elevations to the top level of British politics, but it is indisputable that he has been the most successful political leader in the United Kingdom, and indeed the Western world, since at least the end of the Second World War. After Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990 few believed it was possible for one figure to be such a dominant force in their own party and the national political arena ever again. Indeed, it is not only in terms of influence that Blair resembled Thatcher, the Iron Lady herself declared Blair as her natural heir some way into his time as Prime Minister - continuing the work she had begun in 1979 to break the post-war consensus and provide new emphasis on free market policies.
Tony Blair's almost complete domination of British politics traced its roots to 1992 and Black Wednesday. When Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the Conservative Party's reputation for economic competency and management was destroyed. That propelled Labour to extraordinary leads in opinion polls, but the sudden death of John Smith in 1994 saw the still relatively little-known Tony Blair elected as his successor. His new brand of centrism, combined with fiscal responsibility and constitutional reform, while embracing popular market economics and social justice over equality saw his personal popularity soar (to become the most popular Leader of the Opposition since records began) and Labour skyrocket to unimaginable heights in the opinion polls.
The 1997 general election result, to this day, remains almost beyond belief. Never before has one political party alone so dominated the House of Commons - and rarely has it ever occurred in another mature and free democracy like the United Kingdom. For the first time in 66 years, an absolute majority of votes cast was won by one party, and the record for the number of votes cast for a party in a general election was broken by a huge amount.
Labour's enormous victory with 58.3% of the vote and 604 seats was so large and the opposition so crushed (the Conservatives were almost extinguished, reduced to a rump of just 21 seats but still enough to become the Official Opposition) that Blair himself felt the need to reassure the nation that he would use his power responsibly. After all, he was placed in a position where he could do anything he wanted and implement any policy he desired for the next five years at least. Many believed, and were proven right, that the scale of Labour's victory would keep them in power for well beyond five years.
That victory in 1997 and the incredible endorsement that came from it gave Tony Blair the mandate to mould 21st Century Britain in his image, and the image of New Labour. For many millions of young people in Britain today, there has never been anyone other than Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Despite scandals and controversies, his constant graft and dogged determination to reform society and the economy has made him one of the most respected men not just in these islands but across the whole world. The story of the Blair Years is one of triumph and tragedy, longevity and lives cut too short, of success and failure, of praise and controversy. The whole story hasn't been told, until now.
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair may not have had the most typical of elevations to the top level of British politics, but it is indisputable that he has been the most successful political leader in the United Kingdom, and indeed the Western world, since at least the end of the Second World War. After Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990 few believed it was possible for one figure to be such a dominant force in their own party and the national political arena ever again. Indeed, it is not only in terms of influence that Blair resembled Thatcher, the Iron Lady herself declared Blair as her natural heir some way into his time as Prime Minister - continuing the work she had begun in 1979 to break the post-war consensus and provide new emphasis on free market policies.
Tony Blair's almost complete domination of British politics traced its roots to 1992 and Black Wednesday. When Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the Conservative Party's reputation for economic competency and management was destroyed. That propelled Labour to extraordinary leads in opinion polls, but the sudden death of John Smith in 1994 saw the still relatively little-known Tony Blair elected as his successor. His new brand of centrism, combined with fiscal responsibility and constitutional reform, while embracing popular market economics and social justice over equality saw his personal popularity soar (to become the most popular Leader of the Opposition since records began) and Labour skyrocket to unimaginable heights in the opinion polls.
The 1997 general election result, to this day, remains almost beyond belief. Never before has one political party alone so dominated the House of Commons - and rarely has it ever occurred in another mature and free democracy like the United Kingdom. For the first time in 66 years, an absolute majority of votes cast was won by one party, and the record for the number of votes cast for a party in a general election was broken by a huge amount.
Labour's enormous victory with 58.3% of the vote and 604 seats was so large and the opposition so crushed (the Conservatives were almost extinguished, reduced to a rump of just 21 seats but still enough to become the Official Opposition) that Blair himself felt the need to reassure the nation that he would use his power responsibly. After all, he was placed in a position where he could do anything he wanted and implement any policy he desired for the next five years at least. Many believed, and were proven right, that the scale of Labour's victory would keep them in power for well beyond five years.
That victory in 1997 and the incredible endorsement that came from it gave Tony Blair the mandate to mould 21st Century Britain in his image, and the image of New Labour. For many millions of young people in Britain today, there has never been anyone other than Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Despite scandals and controversies, his constant graft and dogged determination to reform society and the economy has made him one of the most respected men not just in these islands but across the whole world. The story of the Blair Years is one of triumph and tragedy, longevity and lives cut too short, of success and failure, of praise and controversy. The whole story hasn't been told, until now.
