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The Minister of Defence Michael Portillo was just one of many leading Conservative figures to lose their seat to Labour. But Portillo, tipped to be the next leader of his party and a keen disciple of Margaret Thatcher, was a  prized victory for the…

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Despite facing serious legal charges, Neil Hamilton stood as candidate for Tatton. To highlight its hostility to ‘Tory sleaze’ Labour backed the independent Martin Bell who won what was one of the safest Conservative seats in the country.

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Chris Mullin was Labour candidate in the safe Labour seat of Sunderland South while Gyles Brandreth contested the marginal constituency of City of Chester for the Conservatives. Their diaries give an insight into how the 1997 campaign was viewed on…

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Conservative troubles meant Labour under John Smith enjoyed a lead in the polls. However in May 1994 he died. Some strongly believe that had Smith lived he would have led the party back to power without the transformations associated with Blair.…

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The Labour Party’s 1983 manifesto was heavily influenced by the party’s leftwing. It called for unilateral nuclear disarmament, higher taxes, withdrawal from the European Economic Community and greater state control of the economy. The leftwing…

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The 1997 general election increased the number of female MPs to 121. 101 of these were Labour MPs. Women held major ministerial posts for the first time. They included Harriet Harman in the newly created role of Minster for Women, Margaret Beckett as…

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Events were exclusively designed for the media so as to guarantee the most favourable coverage for the party. In this photograph Tony Blair is surrounded by a carefully selected group of sympathetic nurses, pensioners, children and young parents.

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“Of course, as opponents of the change immediately pointed out once it was announced, it was largely symbolic. No one except the far left ever really believed in Clause IV as it was written. In a sense, that was my point: no one believed in it, yet…

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Tony Benn was the figurehead of the Labour Party’s left. He had a strong influence on the party during the 1970s and 1980s. Benn believed the party should stick with the policies of 1983. But such was the scale of the defeat this looked unrealistic…
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