Living with Labour: 1997–2001

Abstract

The period from 1997 to the general election of June 2001 can be divided into two halves. First, there was the last period of Paddy Ashdown’s leadership, ending when he formally resigned as Liberal Democrat leader in summer 1999; second, there was the period since the advent of Charles Kennedy, from his victory in the August 1999 ballot to the 7 June 2001 election. Within this broad division, and throughout this period, one issue overshadowed the party: its relations with the ‘New Labour’ government of Tony Blair. This period also saw Liberal Democrats facing new electoral battlegrounds (in addition to the 1999 European elections, parliamentary by-elections and annual municipal contests) in terms of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Greater London Authority elections.