More than Blair will give
The defeat of the Tory government after eighteen years in power, and the election of Tony Blair's New Labour party, will lead to major changes in British politics. But most of these changes will not be thanks to the new government, but in spite of or in response to it. Roland Rance The huge Tory defeat, far greater than anyone had expected, has left the party demoralised and directionless. More than half of the Conservative MPs were defeated, while those remaining are fighting bitterly over leadership of the rump that is left. Seven members of John Major's cabinet lost their seats, including Michael Portillo, a potential right-wing contender for the party leadership.
The Tories now have no MPs in Scotland or Wales, and very few in urban England. The divisions and recriminations in the party are likely to leave it unable to bid effectively for a return to power for many years
Although the Labour party was the main benefactor of this crushing defeat, winning an unprecedented 419 seats, other parties also benefited from the Tory collapse. The Liberal Democrats doubled their parliamentary representation to 46, the Scottish Nationalists doubled theirs from three to six, and Sinn Fein won two seats in Northern Ireland.
Journalist Martin Bell, standing as an independent with backing from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, defeated corrupt Tory incumbent Neil Hamilton in an archetypal Conservative seat in suburban Manchester. Left of Labour
The parties to the left of Labour had mixed results. In Glasgow, community activist Tommy Sheridan, a member of the Socialist Party (formerly Militant), standing for the Scottish Socialist Alliance (SSA), received 11.1%. Other SSA candidates fared less well, with an average vote just over 1%. Former Labour Member of Parliament Dave Nellist, standing for the Socialist Party in Coventry, received 6.5%.
Miners leader Arthur Scargill, standing for the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) in Newport, Wales, received 5.2%. Ă handful of SLP candidates did even better. In Cardiff Central, Terry Burns won 5.3%, with an explicitly revolutionary platform.
In East Ham (East London), lawyer Imran Khan recorded the party's best result, winning 6.8% in a constituency where the Labour party was accused of not paying attention to the demands of a large Asian population. Khan is a well known local activist, and ran a very active campaign in opposition to the far-right British Nationalist Party (BNP), which received 3.2% in that constituency. The combined vote of left-ofLabour candidates was about 70,000. Right wing extremists
The fascist National Front polled over 1,000 votes in a number of London seats. In the East London area of Bethnal Green, where all three main parties stood black candidates. thev took 7.5% of the votes.
Anglo-French businessman James Goldsmith's anti-Maastricht Referendum Party gained over 80,000 votes. Since he is believed to have spent £20 million of his vast fortune on the campaign, this works out at about f25 (US$40) per vote.
Single-issue anti-abortion candidates did badly everywhere they stood. And, as is traditional, neither the Natural Law Party nor the Monster Raving Loony Party gained high Labour's first steps in government
Following the results, Blair stated: "We ran for office as New Labour, and we will govern as New Labour." He lost no time in making his intentions clear. Labour right-winger Frank Field, who has for many years attacked the benefits system, was appointed minister for welfare reform.
The head of BP, who is not an elected members of parliament, was appointed as a trade minister. Another wealthy businessman is to head a commission enquiring into a minimum wage.
The government has repeated its intention not to raise income tax, not to repeal anti-union legislation, and not to take back into public ownership the utilities sold for peanuts by the Tories.
Britain * -@STaure BeLL 1996--888 12:9.96STEADY ON THERE, CHUM!
But there have been a few welcome reforms. Some of the more vicious aspects of immigration policy have been relaxed. The government has promised to end the sale of land mines, and local government will be restored in London. Constitutional changes
In constitutional matters, there will be major changes, with the near-certainty of a Scottish Assembly, with tax-raising powers, within two years, and the likelihood of a Welsh Assembly. It is also likely that there will be a change in the electoral system in Britain, with a move to a more proportional system.
The Tory wipe-out in Scotland and Wales followed an election in which they attempted to play up fears of the future of the United Kingdom; they therefore have little legitimacy for strenuous opposition to these assemblies.
A further welcome result of the election is the large increase in women members of parliament. This is largely the result of a Labour policy (later banned by the courts) of reserving certain seats for women candidates. There are now more than 100 women on the Labour benches. This is still only a quarter of the party's MPs, but it represents a significant, positive change. What do the rich and famous expect from Blair?
On the whole, Labour offers more a change of style than of policy. Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) Gordon Brown chose to wear a normal grey suit, rather than formal evening wear, when he addressed a meeting of bankers in the City of
June 1997 #289 7
* Britain
London.
Tony Blair has been welcomed across
Europe as a less abrasive leader than his Tory predecessors. But many must have been alarmed to learn that he was briefed by
Margaret Thatcher before the recent EU leaders' summit.
...and the rest of us?
Blair is mistaken if he believes that this massive rejection of the Tory party can be seen as positive support for his "New
Labour"
project. Exit polls at the polling
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