1997-+Tony+Blair,+Labour+Party+Prime+Minister+in+Great+Britain+g4


 * Tony Blair, Labour Party Prime Minister in Great Britain - 1997 **

Overview
Tony Blair is a British Labour politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. On the day he resigned as Prime Minister, he was appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia. Tony Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Blair is the Labour Party's longest-serving Prime Minister; the only person to have led the Labour Party to three consecutive general election victories; and the only Labour Prime Minister to serve consecutive terms, more than one of which was at least four years long. He was succeeded as Leader of the Labour Par ty on 24 June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 by Gordon Brown.

Central Issue
Blair announced at the end of his speech at the 1994 Labour Party conference th at he intended to replace Clause IV of the party's constitution with a new statement of aims and values. Under his leadership, the party adopted the term "New Labour", and abandoned policies it had held for decades. Blair led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair handed over control of interest rates to the Bank of England; introduced the minimum wage; signed the Belfast Agreement; introduced tuition fees; and established the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. In his first six years, Blair had British troops ordered into battle five times, more than any other prime minister in history. At the 1996 Labour Party conference, Blair stated that his three top priorities on coming to office were "education, education, and education".

Conclusion
Blair formed a strong relationship with Bill Clinton during his time in office, but also formed a strong political alliance with George W. Bush, especially in foreign policy. At one point, Nelson Mandela described Blair as "the U.S. foreign minister". Blair has also often openly been referred to as "Bush's poodle." After the tragic destruction of the Twin Towers, George W. Bush mentioned Blair and the UK in his speech saying, "America has no truer friend than Great Britain". The alliance between Bush and Blair seriously damaged Blair's standing in the eyes of many UK citizens. Blair argued it is in Britain's interest to "protect and strengthen the bond" with the United States regardless of who is in the White House. In May 2008 Blair launched his Tony Blair Faith Foundation. This was followed in July 2009 by the launching of the Faith and Globalization Initiative with Yale University in the USA, Durham University in the UK and National University of Singapore in Asia to deliver a postgraduate program in partnership with the Foundation.