Government of Tony Blair
| Blair ministry | |
|---|---|
| 1997–2007 | |
 |
|
| Date formed | 2 May 1997 |
| Date dissolved | 27 June 2007 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Head of government | Tony Blair |
| Deputy head of government | John Prescott |
| Member party | Labour Party |
| Status in legislature | Majority |
| Opposition cabinet | |
| Opposition party | Conservative Party |
| Opposition leader |
|
| History | |
| Election(s) | |
| Legislature term(s) | |
| Predecessor | Second Major ministry |
| Successor | Brown ministry |
Tony Blair formed the first Blair ministry in May 1997 after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major as a result of the Labour Party landslide victory at the 1997 general election. He would serve as the Prime Minister for three successive parliamentary terms until his resignation on 27 June 2007. His Cabinet was reshuffled for each new parliament along with a few minor changes during each term.
After eighteen years in opposition, Labour ousted the Conservatives at the May 1997 election with a 179-seat majority. The Prime Minister Tony Blair, who turned 44 years old just days after leading Labour to victory, was the youngest Prime Minister of the twentieth century.
Blair quickly wiped away memories of the troubled Labour governments led by Harold Wilson and James Callaghan as the economic recovery continued and unemployment continued to fall. While other developed countries, notably Japan, were hit by a financial crisis during Blair's first term in office, the British economy remained strong.
In September 2000, however, protests against fuel prices intensified across the country and the new Leader of the Conservative Party William Hague exploited the situation by pointing out to voters just how much fuel prices had risen under Labour. This sparked a brief Conservative lead in the opinion polls – the first time in eight years – but once the protests and consequent fuel shortages ended, Labour led the opinion polls once more. Blair was so confident of re-election that he called a general election for 3rd May, but this was postponed until 7th June due to the foot and mouth crisis. This led to a brief crisis in the agricultural and tourism industries, but did little to shake a still-strong economy and the electorate responded by re-electing Blair with an only slightly-reduced majority.
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