New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls

On the night of May 1st 1997 the Labour party - dubbed New Labour by Tony Blair - was swept to power, Paddy Ashdown’s Liberal Democrats more than doubled their parliamentary representation and Sinn Fein elected two MPs in Northern Ireland constituencies. Above all, the Conservative Party, for more than a century one of the most powerful political forces in any democratic country, dramatically reduced their parliamentary representation and lost power after 18 continuous years in office. This book aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the 1997 British elections, reporting the entire story. The contributors offer accounts of the new government of the United Kingdom, tallying election results, reflecting on the New Labour Party, the Conservatives’ changed role, the Scottish elections and summing up the new electoral battleground .