Exploiting the Resources of Power: The Blair Era, 1997-2007

Abstract

Winning three successive general elections gave the Labour government under Prime Minister Blair an unprecedented position in modern British politics. It also raises a number of questions. What were the factors that made Labour so dominant? Thus, was it because of the changing character of the Labour Party, the weakness of the parliamentary opposition, or was it largely thanks to the personality and performance of Blair himself? Then, again, did the dominance persist so long because Labour in government was able to utilise the resources of power to further consolidate its position? Yet, it is also clear that other factors were involved. Thus, does not account also have to be taken of the institutional structure that allows a party to become dominant in the first place, and then — once in power — able to bolster its position?