BBC 1997 General Election (2017 Broadcast) - Part One
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- čas přidán 19. 09. 2017
- Part one of the BBC Coverage of the 1997 General Election
The United Kingdom general election of 1997 was held on Thursday 1 May 1997, five years after the previous election on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. Under the leadership of Tony Blair, the Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition and won the general election with a landslide victory, winning 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held, and the highest proportion of seats held by any party in the post-war era.
The election saw a huge 10.2% swing from the Conservatives to Labour on a national turnout of 71% and would be the last national vote where turnout exceeded 70% until the 2016 EU referendum was held nineteen years later. Blair, as a result, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a position he held until his resignation on 27 June 2007.
Under Blair's leadership, the Labour Party had adopted a more centrist policy platform under the name 'New Labour'. This was seen as moving away from the traditionally more left-wing stance of the Labour Party. Labour made several campaign pledges such as the creation of a National Minimum Wage, devolution referendums for Scotland and Wales and promised greater economic competence than the Conservatives, who were unpopular following the events of Black Wednesday in 1992.
The Labour campaign was ultimately a success and the party returned an unprecedented 418 MPs and began the first of three consecutive terms for Labour in government. However, 1997 was the last election in which Labour had a net gain of seats until 2017. A record number of women were elected to parliament, 120, of whom 101 were Labour MPs. This was in part thanks to Labour's policy of using all-women shortlists.
The Conservative Party was led by incumbent Prime Minister John Major and ran their campaign emphasising falling unemployment and a strong economic recovery following the early 1990s recession. However, a series of scandals, party disunity over the European Union, the events of Black Wednesday and a desire of the electorate for change after 18 years of Tory rule all contributed to the Conservatives' worst defeat since 1906, with only 165 MPs elected to Westminster, as well as their lowest percentage share of the vote since 1832.
The party was left with no seats whatsoever in Scotland or Wales, and many key Conservative politicians, including Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, Trade Secretary Ian Lang, Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth and former ministers Edwina Currie, Norman Lamont, David Mellor and Neil Hamilton lost their parliamentary seats.
However, future Prime Minister Theresa May was elected to the safe Conservative seat at Maidenhead, and future Speaker John Bercow in the seat at Buckingham. Following the defeat, the Conservatives began their longest continuous spell in opposition in the history of the present day (post-Tamworth Manifesto) Conservative Party, and indeed the longest such spell for any incarnation of the Tories/Conservatives since the 1760s, lasting 13 years.
The Liberal Democrats, under Paddy Ashdown, returned 46 MPs to parliament, the most for any third party since 1929 and more than double the amount of seats they got in 1992, despite a drop in popular vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) returned 6 MPs, double their total in 1992.
As with all general elections since the early 1950s, the results were broadcast live on the BBC; the presenters were David Dimbleby, Peter Snow and Jeremy Paxman.
The only job in the world where you get the sack in front of 20 million people and have to smile about it.
Must be an L
Well it’s more like 50,000,000 if you count the full population of britain in 1997.
@@jacklewis3803 True my friend but only about 20 million actually stayed up to watch the live results coverage
Haha great way to put it!
@@MrPeterpiper1969 However, as sackings go, so many of this lot showed how to endure it gracefully. Though John Major wasn't among the losses in terms of seats, he bore what was the most devastating result for the Tories in living memory with a remarkable dignity. I am not a Conservative voter, but I would defy anybody not to admire the manner in which he conceded defeat and acknowledged the task facing the party as the new Official Opposition.
Back here after the election 2019 to see how a victory for the Labour Party looks like.
Julian Rüther labour will never win again
@@CharityRivers Boris and the Tories are in the position now where they can make or break Labour. If they keep their promises and if Brexit is a huge success, it will be very difficult for Labour to ever come back. If however Brexit is a disaster and promises aren't kept, next election I think would be in Labour's hands BUT they have to pick a strong leader. Corbyn was far too weak and bowed down to those in the party that wanted a second referendum vote.
@@hakim2546 they said that after 1992, an election Labour was widely expected to win five years later Labour won by the biggest landslide ever. In 2005 the Tories won just 198 seats, five years later they won 307. Labour have 203 seats currently and whatever happens now the Tories own Brexit whether good or bad. Boris hid in a bloody fridge during the Campaign to avoid being interviewed by ITV News, there's only so long that level of incompetence can be overlooked.
John Das that’s what they said in 1992, likewise it’s what many said about the conservatives in 2005. These things happen in cycles.
They lost because they backed a 2nd referendum, it had nothing to do with "momentum" or "Corbynism", that's a lazy argument.
To his credit, John Major was a decent man and gave two respectable speeches. Always a statesman unlike the clowns their party have now.
Couldn't agree more
Absolutely. Well said. I'm a Labour voter through & through but Sir John Major is a class act & gentlemen. Sadly lacking in modern politicians.
There were clowns galore in Major’s cabinet and party back then. Compared to the fiasco of the 90s, the Tories are relatively sane these days. You’re either young or have a very short memory!
“Sedgefield - a very safe Labour seat” - underlines how things have changed since
How depressing. an 11% tory majority now.
yes the 'Sedgefield Labour club' now a carpet warehouse!
Ben Lewis I am assuming you mean they need to change? If so I am agreed
@@waltham99 haha
@@michaelheeheejackson7255 no they need to just die off and make way for another party
Parts of the video:
0:05 Election coverage opening, featuring "Arthur" by Richard Wakeman, the White Cliffs of Dover with Beachy Head Lighthouse, escalators which form a “X”, Big Ben, and 10 Downing
2:19 Peter Snow introduces the BBC's high tech graphics
4:59 10pm - Exit poll
5:45 John Prescott (Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) reaction to poll
6:21 Peter Snow analyzes the exit poll
17:56 Jeremy Paxman talks with Michael Portillo (Secretary of State for Defence - Conservative)
19:51 Paddy Ashdown (Leader of the Liberal Democrats) talks with reporters outside his home
23:44 The battleground with Peter Snow
30:08 Peter Snow looks at Cabinet members at risk
33:00 John Burton (Tony Blair's agent) interview
38:22 Frank Skinner talks with John Major and Tony Blair imitators
50:45 Sunderland South declaration
55:00 Paxman talks with Neil Kinnock (former Labour leader), Michael Portillo, and David Steel (former Liberal leader)
58:13 Information on the elections in Scotland
1:03:08 Interview with Lord Archer (Con)
1:04:58 Michael Dobbs (Con) interview
1:06:36 Map of Lab targets
1:12:14 Hamilton South declaration
1:14:40 Edwina Currie (Con) interview
1:18:28 Stephen Dorrell (Secretary of State for Health - Con) interview
1:20:09 Malcolm Rifkind (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - Con) interview
1:22:12 Michael Heseltine (Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - Con) interview
1:30:09 Frank Skinner talks with the returning officer for Harrogate and Knaresborough
1:34:02 Paxman talks with Peter Mandelson (Lab)
1:35:22 Paxman with Kinnock
1:40:53 Gordon Brown (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer - Lab) interview
1:43:22 Wrexham declaration
1:46:02 Paxman talks with Cecil Parkinson (Con), David Steel, and Neil Kinnock
1:49:14 Tony Blair goes to his count
1:51:55 Sunderland North result
1:53:15 Recap of what has happened so far
2:05:30 William Hague (Secretary of State for Wales - Con) interview
2:10:28 Tony Blair arrives at his count in Sedgefield
2:13:01 Houghton and Washington East result
2:14:33 Paxman talks with Jack Straw (Shadow Home Secretary - Lab) and Robin Cook (Shadow Foreign Secretary - Lab)
2:19:15 Interview with Richard Branson (Virgin Group)
2:23:07 Barnsley Central result
2:24:33 Birmingham Edgbaston declaration: First Lab gain from Con
2:28:04 Manchester Blackley result 2:28:15 Bootle result
2:28:37 Kenneth Clarke (Chancellor of the Exchequer - Con) interview
2:31:14 Portsmouth North declaration
2:36:03 Interview with Gisela Stuart (Lab), newly-elected MP for Birmingham Edgbaston
2:37:18 Birmingham Ladywood result 2:37:37 Ashton under Lyne result 2:37:52 Warley result 2:38:05 Crosby result
2:39:35 James Goldsmith (Leader of the Referendum Party) interview
2:41:46 Eccles result 2:41:56 Salford result 2:42:06 Worsley result
2:43:43 Interview with Alastair Campbell (Lab)
2:45:52 Tyne Bridge result 2:46:03 Barnsley West and Penistone result 2:46:10 Oldham West and Royton result
2:46:29 Paddy Ashdown interview
2:48:09 Recap so far
2:49:16 The day's newspapers
2:52:12 Basildon declaration
2:54:06 Norwich North declaration
2:55:17 Gordon Brown speech at Dunfermline East
2:57:05 Wolverhampton South West declaration
2:59:03 Southport result
3:00:48 Peter Mandelson speech
3:01:49 Battersea declaration
3:02:46 Portsmouth South declaration
3:04:02 Sedgefield declaration: Tony Blair's seat
3:14:27 Wirral West result 3:14:36 Wirral South result 3:14:43 Birmingham Hall Green result 3:14:49 Oldham East and Saddleworth result 3:15:02 Vale of Clwyd result 3:15:19 Hazel Grove result 3:15:31 Northavon result
3:15:50 Paxman talks with Parkinson, Kinnock, and Steel
3:19:34 Putney declaration: Tony Colman (Lab) defeats David Mellor (Con)
3:23:20 Stirling declaration
3:26:38 Keighley result 3:26:59 Sheffield Hallam result
3:28:25 Interview with David Evans (Con)
3:30:17 David Mellor's speech, interview
3:33:07 Rochdale result 3:33:24 Weston-Super-Mare result 3:33:41 Upminster result 3:33:54 Stourbridge result 3:34:14 Perth result 3:38:20 Shipley result 3:47:47 Leeds North West result 3:48:06 Bolton West result 3:48:15 Cleethorpes result 3:48:33 Stockton South result 3:48:52 Halesowen and Rowley Regis result 3:49:02 Harwich result 3:49:12 Sittingbourne and Sheppey result
3:49:52 Yeovil declaration: Paddy Ashdown's seat
3:55:12 Hornchurch result 3:55:25 Hove result 3:55:38 Kingswood result 3:55:51 Coventry South result
3:56:16 Paxman talks with Cecil Parkinson
3:57:34 Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar (Lab) speech
3:58:04 Paxman with Neil Kinnock
3:59:45 Eastwood result 4:00:05 Vale of Glamorgan result
4:00:30 Labour targets hits and misses so far
4:06:11 Dumfries result 4:06:28 Romford result 4:06:41 Pudsey result 4:06:53 Bedford result
4:07:25 Recap so far around 2am
4:08:49 David Dimbleby interviews Paddy Ashdown
4:09:38 Bury North declaration
4:14:07 Torbay declaration
4:14:34 Harrogate and Knaresborough declaration
4:16:29 Torbay result
4:17:06 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (erroneously stated as Edinburgh Pentlands) declaration
4:19:36 William Hague interview
4:21:37 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale declaration: Alasdair Morgan (Scottish National Party) defeats Ian Lang (President of the Board of Trade Secretary of State for Trade & Industry - Con)
4:23:52 Tony Blair speech at Sedgefield Labour Club
4:30:25 Wimbledon result 4:30:40 Sutton and Cheam result 4:30:59 Carshalton and Wallington result 4:31:31 Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East result 4:31:42 Gloucester result 4:32:12 Croydon Central result 4:32:21 Croydon North result 4:32:33 Tayside North result 4:32:51 Shrewsbury and Atcham result
4:36:53 Brent North declaration
4:37:47 Rushcliffe declaration
4:40:39 Edinburgh West declaration
4:44:42 Ian Lang interview
4:46:21 Mitchan and Morden declaration
4:47:10 Tatton declaration: Martin Bell (former BBC correspondent, anti-sleaze candidate - Independent) defeats Neil Hamilton (Con)
4:53:10 Edinburgh Pentlands declaration: Lynda Clark (Lab) defeats Malcolm Rifkind (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - Con)
4:56:59 Paxman with Parkinson and Iain Duncan Smith (Con)
4:58:01 John Major arrives at his count in Huntingdon and Paxman talking with Edwina Currie
4:59:47 Interview with George Gardiner (only Member of Parliament for the Referendum Party)
5:03:25 Finchley and Golders Green result 5:03:53 Ilford South result 5:04:06 Hendon result
5:05:44 Enfield Southgate declaration: Stephen Twigg (Lab) defeats Michael Portillo (Portillo moment)
5:12:33 Gillian Shephard (Secretary of State for Education and Employment - Con) interview
5:15:00 Paxman with Margaret Hodge (Lab) and Ian Duncan Smith
5:17:25 Stevenage declaration
5:19:05 Bristol West declaration
5:20:09 Labour overall majority, over 330 seats
5:22:13 John Redwood (Con) speech
5:24:31 Michael Portillo interview
5:26:57 Exeter declaration
5:31:32 Huntingdon result: John Major’s seat, Major publicly concedes election
5:39:14 Michael Heseltine interview
5:42:27 Paxman talks with Edward Heath (former Prime Minister - Con)
5:45:34 Labour targets so far
5:46:59 Folkestone and Hythe result 5:47:18 Hitchin and Harpenden result
5:49:29 John Redwood interview
5:52:15 Frank Skinner at the Thursday Night dance in Pudsey Civic Hall
5:54:56 Thanet South result 5:55:13 Richmond Park result 5:55:34 Hastings and Rye result 5:55:48 St Albans result
5:56:05 Summary of coverage at around 3:50am, recap
6:00:09 Labour celebration in Stevenage: attempts to open champagne bottle
6:01:20 D:Ream performs "Things Can Only Get Better" at the Labour celebration in Royal Festival Hall
6:03:13 Interview with Robin Cook
6:15:33 Northampton North result 6:15:55 Harlow result 6:16:18 City of Chester result 6:16:45 Watford result
6:17:00 Michael Howard (Home Secretary - Con) interview
6:22:15 Paxman with David Steel
6:25:07 Billericay result
6:25:23 Teresa Gorman (Con) speech
6:26:11 Kensington and Chelsea result
6:26:37 Jon Sopel interviews Alan Clark (Con)
6:29:14 Welwyn Hatfield declaration
6:37:44 Peter Mandelson interview
6:40:50 Braintree result
6:43:45 Frank Skinner at a club in Manchester
6:45:12 Martin Bell interview
6:47:56 Information on the elections in Wales
6:48:21 Clwyd West declaration (recorded earlier)
6:48:50 Ynys Mon declaration (recorded earlier)
6:51:11 Paddy Ashdown at Lib Dem headquarters
6:52:58 Norfolk South West declaration
6:59:50 Derbyshire South declaration
7:02:22 Blairs arrive in London
7:05:17 Brian Mawhinney (Minister without portfolio - Con) interview
7:05:39 Kinnock, Prescott, Mandelson, Cook, and others celebrate at the Royal Festival Hall
7:15:59 Blair arrives at Royal Festival Hall, speech
7:30:09 John Major arrives at Conservative headquarters, speech
7:41:10 Peter Snow gives summary of how the parties have done
7:47:07 Jeremy Hanley (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs - Con) speech (recorded earlier)
7:49:20 Stephen Dorrell interview
7:51:31 Update on elections in Scotland
7:52:50 Recap around 6am
7:55:25 Sign-off
This much have been a pain to type, but thanks for saving us from the boring talk while waiting for the results.
Doing God's work
Thank you for doing this!
People like you doing things like this for the benefit of others make my day.
Amazing thank you!
5:00 The moment John Major became John *Minor*
very good...........
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
@@TheKonga88 idiot ?
@@niccolorichter1488 no you
I am 62 years old and this still remains one of the most memorable nights of my entire life
and the worst
@@marcokite
@marcokite Are you saying "the worst" because you're a conservative voter ???? If so then cheer up. You were able to live thru 13 yrs of Labour rule in the UK until the Torys returned to power in 2010. Now 12 yrs later in 2022 the conservatives are still in power in the UK . So you shouldn't have had to worry 25 yrs ago because party power does not always last and constantly changes.
@@herondelatorre4023 And we'll be getting a repeat of this at the next general election when it comes-The Tories are heading the same way they we're between 1992-1997.
@@marcokite Bitter Tory
As an American, i must say that i enjoy this coverage much more! It seems more in-depth and analytical than the shouting matches of fox news and cnn.
oh shut up.
lol why are you telling him to shut up lmao
Canadian and Australian coverage is also quite civil and analytic.
If you find election night specials from the US back then, like 1996, you notice he same thing
Unfortunately, Rio, British elections have become more Americanised over time. British political campaigns have become based more and more around a cult of personality and those leaders reduced to reciting soundbites and slogans 24/7.
I remember staying up watching this with my boyfriend Dan. I hope you’re happy wherever you are, and whoever you’re with Dan 💔
1:16:30 'My favourite used to be John Major'. Quite indeed, Edwina, quite indeed.
I like how at 3:12, if you pay attention to the monitors behind David, you can see the exit poll prediction before the 10PM embargo.
Michael Portillo starting the night saying don’t believe the exit polls only to go on and lose with a 17% swing against him is one of the best things about this election night
The question of the 1997 election night was "were you still up for Portillo?"
3:57:40 Nicola Sturgeon in the background at Glasgow Govan count.
MrWoodii Great spot
@@chrish2359 Thanks buddy.
I wonder what would've happened if she was in Westminster instead of Holyrood.
Back in the good ol' days where the idea of Scottish independence was considered a laugh and the student politics that it still is.
No, that’s Jimmy Krankee.
6:00:09 Some say they are still trying to open that bottle of champagne....
6.06.00 she got it out with her teeth
This is the type of election I can watch over and over
lay bore cun tar
4:37 - The sound of the Big Ben quarter bells chiming was heard a few seconds later due to OB unit delay, which is why Kate stammers a bit, once she hears the chimes and realises she needs to end quickly before Big Ben strikes 10.00pm.
5:24:40 portillo in the beginning: “we don’t know the result” here: “there was obviously a big swing underway”
What a night this was, I was only young at the time but remembered the hope. Great to see this footage nearly 25 years later on
Absolutely. Different days.
which soon turned to despair
Undoubtedly THE best day of the 1990s. I stayed up as late as I could but was working the next day. I was very very tired but just as happy. Seeing all those creeps losing their seats like pins in a bowling alley was SO BLOODY GOOD!
I was 23 years old at the time and a political junkie living in the States. I wanted to keep the coverage for posterity so I went ahead and recorded the BBC broadcast (shown on CSPAN) in two 8 hr long video tapes. Now, 20 years later, you can find that coverage with a click of the button on youtube. Now, that's what I call a miracle. Also, I can finally throw away those tapes!
Aw, that last line gives me great pain.
I remember the overwhelming sense of hope that came with this election result. Now look at us.
Labour always fail us
@@marcokite That shower weren't Labour ya tory twat! They are Tories with red rosettes.
@@marcokite Labour didn't inflict years of austerity to make wealthy people wealthier.
Labour isn't responsible of the utter fuckscape of brexit....
@@marcokite ater 13 years of government complaining about Labour? A peculiarly British disease
@@gwh3013 I'll take the Labour Government of 97-10 over the Tory Governments we've had ever since any day. I'm hoping for another 97 style victory next year.
3:23:28 Let's show some appreciation for the lady in the background, putting up the numbers of the votes by hand!
I’m having to watch all of this again, as where we are in todays politics takes me back to the 80’and the 90’s where we were in a quagmire just like now.Hopefully when sunak has the balls to call a general election we can do it all again.
The law allows for it to be held as late as December 2024
Not holding an election now is not a question of bravery but of logic. If Sunak wants to win he must wait for better polling
I remember that night well. I was only a secondary school pupil with essentially no understanding of the greater context but still, there was huge rush of optimism and positive energy those first few days. Blair and co. were like a fresh coat of paint.
and look what happened lol
I remember it well also i came back from drinking spree.
A good one from Jeremy paxman to portillo.are you ready to drink hemlock that's savage..
@@danbh84 yeah, look how the country got substantially better over the next decade
@@largeladsteve25 I tend to remember 2008 and the economy going into a nosedive.
Just replayed the Portillo moment, brought back happy memories. There was so much hope that night for this country, oh well never mind.
The country improved massively but the war in iraq, amongst other things, were a huge stained and confidence was lost. What's happened since 2010 has been a steady and then much faster decline.
Thankyou for uploading this, brings back happy memories of watching this with my late father and staying up until the early hours.
I can remember the sense of hope and sheer relief.
Same here, but by 2003 I felt betrayed
@@johnking5174 Likewise !
Edwina: "Well, my favourite used to be John Major". Indeed ;)
yes, how we laughed! Hard to imagine the grey man banging the hole out of her.
🤢
EGGwina
This was the only election I can remember when a major UK-wide party didn't lose a single seat. Labour had 145 gains and 0 losses. Even when Labour made significant gains in 1992 or 2017, or the Conservatives in 1983 or 2010 for instance, those parties still lost some individual seats at those elections.
As expected the Conservatives didn't make a single gain at this election, but suffered 178 losses. Labour didn't make any gains in 2005 and likewise the Lib Dems in 2015, so major parties not making any gains at elections is more common.
The Conservatives did gain Christchurch, which was lost in the 1993 by-election.
@@liamb8644 for counting in a general election By election don't count. I.e Copeland in 2017 counted as a Tory gain even though it had gone to the Torys in a by election.
@@liamb8644 that’s technically not a gain as they won that seat in 1992 which is what is compared from one General election to another, besides that though I can’t even think of one by-election loss that the conservatives retook in 97 besides Christchurch.
2:25:22
Love the how excited the crowd gets here, and when everyone knew the landslide was coming.
For the many not the few where have we heard that before.
Thank you so much for uploading this.
3:29:24 "Blair's campaign was brilliant, he came across as a good Tory leader, and his policies came so near to ours"
lol this aged like wine
Ouch lol
It was vinegar when it was said, and it's vinegar now. Blair is no Tory nor ever was.
@@rtozier2011 refreshing to see someone who, I assume you’re familiar with the works and speeches by Peter Hitchens, who recognises Blair as the Machiavellian socialist revolutionary who destroyed traditional Britain and established a political parliamentary consensus that pervades all the parties and nearly all the members in it.
@@wessexfox5197 Sorry to disappoint you but I'm a long-term Labour Party member who thinks Blair's domestic achievements made this country a much better place than it was under Thatcherite indifference.
Refreshment can be fleeting. With a political opinion as extreme as yours, I'd recommend looking for it elsewhere. Hill walking or animals, for example.
You can't possibly equate these mp's with the current House of Commons! It's why we look back!
1:15:35 “the electorate here have never voted for a party who have been antagonistic to Europe”, fast forward 23 years to a 80 seat Tory majority and South Derbyshire has a Conservative majority of over 19,000, voting in a Government which is very much antagonistic towards Europe. A real shift in the last 20 years to put it mildly!
It is funny listening to Portillo saying "wait for the result".
Twigg....Steven.....
@@APG19912009 Disgruntled face by the returning officer not being able to finish his phrase lol
Twenty thousand- *crowd explodes*
4:13:00
Reminds of that scene from the Crown, they have a John Soppal overhead when Thatcher fell
“An act of mutiny while another called it an act of Treachery!”
3:57:30 Spot a young Nicola Sturgeon in the background - narrowly missing out on flipping a then safe Labour seat in Glasgow in the midst of a Labour landslide.
Her hair was different
Sarwar is now the Governor of Pakistani Punjab.
Well spotted!
@@jazzycrew Jesus you are right ...
Back in good ol' days when the idea of Scottish independence was considered a laugh and the kind of student politics that it still is.
42:31 Anthony King's "landslide is much too weak of a word...it's an asteroid..." remarks
Extremely gracious speech from Michael Portillo at 5:10:00
that exit poll was bang on
6:17:55 foreshadows Paxman and Howard's infamous interview 2 weeks later!
Howard always was one of the worst offenders for avoiding questions
Da Denz I think he threatened to overrule him
He’s a fucker ain’t he 😂
Howard is such a fucking funny guy lol
lol.. still remember the headlines in the Standard at the time for when Mellor lost, from toe job to no job! :D
Great post!
1:03:00 WOW kristian guru-murthy looks so young!!
Krishnan.
This was broadcast live from Studio TC1 at the BBC Television Centre in London. I am so happy that this wonderful studio is still standing after the BBC sold their Television Centre for redevelopment. TC1, along with TC2 and TC3 are up and running again as of March 2018.
Is anyone REALLY bothered where it was recorded ?
It is history. You can say the same thing about the election itself
Not at all There will be and have been numerous books written about the 97 Election ive even read a few, ive yet to see any books about where the BBC televised the event from
There are!
@@dlamiss yes it’s as interesting as watching an election from 25 years ago
John Major has his first loss in 1997. His last loss was 2019.
I was at Michael Portillo's count in Enfield Southgate in '97 when he was kicked out by voters. It was a great moment. One that was emblematic of a night when the UK changed for the better. Labour in govt 1997-2010 did a lot of good. We became a fairer, richer, more equal society and economy. There was, of course, much still to do then. Even more, now, after 13 disastrous years of Tory austerity politics and the Brexit retreat from engagement with Europe
Amen
Take me back ..
I was happy to see Major go
2:04:19 "we're hearing its looking rather positive indeed" dimbleby: "....for who? *chuckles*" lol
thank so much good blrssing you todary am?
5:00. A great moment
7:30:09 Brilliant speech from Major, fair play to the guy
I am a life-long Labour supporter, but i do have enormous respect for John Major. A thoroughly fair-minded and decent man.
7:06:35 Total cringe
6:01:28 This is a long way from singing “The Red Flag!”
I know New Labour didn't turn out to be quite as good as hoped but just seeing the Conservatives decimated is so pleasurable.
Watching this in 2023, expecting similar results and discussions next year!
David Mellor getting voted out was my favourite bit
Love the music.
The thing here in 1997 was that, as Peter Mandelson mentioned, it was New Labour that was elected, not Labour.
Did they cover Tony Benn's reelection? I'd love if someone could tell me where it is in this long file.
Quite sad that after all the fun of 1:30:09, we never got to find out at 4:14:34 how he pronounced Lamont...
5:46:05, beautiful graphic
As an 18 y/o these graphics are more wavier than the modern ones lol
That’s awesome, especially for 1997.
Looks like an Atari Jaguar game.
Love this graphic, (I was born in 2004) should be used nowadays
I watched this in my digs in Liverpool where I was just about to finish my degree and move home. I feel old now!
1:46:03
You’re now chairman of the fertilizer firm, how deep is the mess you’re in at present?
Sounds like a line from "The Day Today" or "Brass Eye"!
that champagne incident was excruciating
Another week until we go thru this again.
Fair play to Cecil Parkinson, at least he could laugh about the scale of the defeat! 😂
Can you upload the 2001 General election?
happy with this result, sad that it had to be blair though
This result WAS because of Blair.
Got home from work, got some cold beer out the fridge and turned on the TV. Saw this on BBC1 and decided to turnover to BBC2 where a more satirical version with Armando Iannucci hosting was on. A bit of cross over as Armando pretended to nick Dimbleby’s script off the BBC1 set at the beginning. After the beers and the evening flowed on I decided to get some sleep as a Labour landslide was certain. Next morning at work a colleague was euphoric at the size of the Conservative defeat but all I could say was I wonder how long that feeling would last. He laughed and said I was probably right. So sad that all politicians and parties end up in disappointment. Especially at that time with a huge majority, economy in reasonable shape and a lot of good will.
I love the music
Please, has anyone got the timestamp to Major's speech on the steps of #10, in which he says he's off to watch the cricket?
As I heard Peter M say recently, If you look back at the last 11 General Elections from the Labour Perspective:
1. LOST
2. LOST
3. LOST
4. LOST
5. TONY BLAIR
6. TONY BLAIR
7. TONY BLAIR
8. LOST
9. LOST
10. LOST
11. LOST
Surely it is time for Labour 2021 to make their peace with the Blair Years. Yes, Iraq/Afghanistan was a big mistake, but EVERYTHING ELSE????
Keir Starmer
It's a classic case of not appreciating something til it's gone.
domestic policies were a disaster too. Education and health were their priorities said Brown on this night. You talk to a teacher or nurse of 25 yrs experience today.. nothing but budget cuts, and OFSTED interference. Longer waiting lists, easy exams, private uni education, student debts, classroom sizes doubling. What a mess, the Tories added fuel to fire from 2010, but the rot started with New Labour.
Loved Bradshaw’s speech at 5:25:00 brilliant 👏🏻
4:58:56 Edwina standing by her man.
2:24:34 First labour gain (Birmingham Edgbaston). Neville Chamberlain's seat that has never had Labour MP until this election. This result put the final nail in the coffin of any idea of comeback for the conservatives who were watching this election. More important than "Portillo moment". It has stayed Labour ever since. The winner in this election (Gisela Stuart) held this seat till 2015.
I remember watching this in a Student house in Southfields, London. I was with a Brummie and I am from Tipton, in the Black Country. We'd both been trying to tell our housemates about the difference in the Brummie & Black Country accents. The returning officers here and Wolverhampton South West underlined our argument.
Looks like it took the Tories 22 years to finally sort the EU issue.
Sort it?
@@Jrt91 i'd say we've got another 20 years at least before it's anywhere near sorted
3:56:56 Cecil Parkinson’s black humour cracked me up here 🤣
Don't forget 3:15:50 Absolutely hillarity from Cecil Parkinson too.
6:00:09 - Nobody in Stevenage ever attended the Dan Gurney School of Champagne Celebrations.
one of my favourite tv cock ups a h still giggle to this day
How come the BBC pinched the Internet Explorer logo?
UK General election in 2024 be like:
feels like this was only 26 years ago
This was the greatest night of my life..but looking back after all these years I must say that the star of the evening was Michael Portillo - "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.."
5:05:50
Yeh, Michael Portillo was dignified whilst Tony Benn who lost in 1983, if you see him, he came across as arrogant and ignorant. Talking to his wife whilst the victor was speaking then gave a daft speech.
@@evonne_okafor I was referrring to 5:24:32
the worst night in the history of this nation
Always the same with like for like slow bold panoramic themes - what was this...?.
Why'd they cut away from the Torbay recount FFS?! For crusty Lamont! 21 years ago but my rage transports across the ages!
Well, might as well watch something during lockdown.
Some of the seats which Labour won such as Sittingbourne and Sheppey in Kent are now very safe Conservative seats, plus St Albans now has a Liberal Democrat MP
What a great night that was, and how far backwards we've gone since.
@Dave Smith No, just the destruction of the public services and society as a whole. By the way didn't agree with Iraq, though the Conservatives did.
BCJ1985 Fuck you
Labour shouldn't have stolen 6000 miles of Scottish waters, that was also criminal.
@Dave Smith You just gonna forget Libya...
we started going backwards the moment Labour got in
Recently watched 92 election. Definitely different vibe this one. I am expecting 2024 election to be very similar to this.
James Goldsmith being interviewed by Michael Buerk at 2.40.40 died a few weeks later.
a complete arse of a man, but laid the foundation for Brexit 20 yrs later. wasted 20 mill quid on this election.
That day I was unique. I really stood out from the crowd. The only one! I voted Conservative. Now you know who it was!
Alan Heath “hands up who’s a prick”
@@markthomson5534 I won't be doing it again.
@@VanlifewithAlan Do you think you would vote Conservative again?
@@Anon72005 After what has happened over the past five years, I very much doubt it. I was a member of the party too - and even campaigned for them. Makes me feel sick now!
@@VanlifewithAlan Aye! I think 2024 we will see the change of tides, and a year similarly to 1997 swing wise, not seats of course. Other than that, you are correct, the current “Conservative” Party is sickening.
The majority of the Labour Party liked him then. They supported him then. How times change.
Any chance you have the BBC general election coverage from 2001?
Seems the BBC has copyrighted the 2001 and 2005 election coverage. God knows why.
I remember vividly watching this as an 18 year old,i was so full of optimism and hope for the future under a Labour government,how wrong i was,the whole "New Labour",way of running the country,changed politics forever,so that now there is a total apathy towards all parties,i now only have fear for the way the country,which i love,will end up...shame on all politicians,you will never recover the trust of the electorate that you should be serving.
Disco Dave I think a great deal of responsibility for what has happened (we’ve had similar disenchantment here in the US) is the impact that television has had on politics. Attaining the leadership of parties has less to do with talent and leadership, and more to do with how a person looks on television.
Another factor has been the influence of money on policy making. With both Labour and among mainstream Democrats in the US, has been the rise of Neoliberalism, which has caused “New” Labour to cut itself off from its roots, and among many Democrats, to cut itself off from its modern New Deal liberalism.
To a certain respect, this has been caused by its success, as many who have prospered as a result of these policies have, to a certain respect, pulled the ladder up behind them.
Disco Dave I also wonder just how differently things would have gone had Blair not decided to become so attached to George W Bush after 9/11 (which might have been prevented had Bush done his job. The US, after all, had pretty detailed evidence of an imminent attack, the method, and the targets. The Bush Administration, however, was completely incompetent in handling that intelligence.)
It wasn’t so much the attempt to go after al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Among NATO, there was universal support regarding Afghanistan (even Iran offered to assist), but as Iraq was not even involved with 9/11, Blair was the only substantial ally to support that invasion, and to involve the UK in that disastrous war. My guess is that even the majority of Americans were opposed to that invasion.
That essentially split the Labour Party in the UK, with the Tories supporting Blair. That severely damaged the Labour Party, and those within Labour who opposed that war had no political place to go.
Disco Dave the Tories have made it worse
disco Dave,eating your word's now?
''forever'' is a long time in politics, especially to the short sighted...
I remember watching as a 3 year old child. All the adults were drunk and shouting "tony!"
Watching this coverage as we look ahead to the next election in 2024. Was too young to remember the Labour win in 97 but it certainly looks like we're heading for something like this again. Whether that's a good or bad thing, I'll leave that for others to decide.
There's an old saying 'a week is a long time in politics' but this feels like 50 years ago (as I write it's less than 25.) We were closer to the EU referendum then to when we joined what was then the Common Market in 1973, we were voting for a Labour government that promised and did implement the Human Rights Act, UKIP and the Referendum parties were fringe movements as reflected in the fact Nigel Farage was standing in Salisbury and only gaining 5% of the vote. I never thought I'd be nostalgic for it as a Tory (and I still maintain that having such a huge majority led to hubris on the part of Tony Blair) but watching it now makes me feel sad and nostalgic for what feels like a less divisive era now that we have Boris Johnson in No.10 and Trump in the White House.
One of the two be gone!
Were you still up for Portillo - the book of the night
Neil Kinnock said a Classic Line.
10% for Number 10 that er do Nicely lol :).
Kinnock, a real class-act
3:32:00 David Mellor actually being graceful and talking sense! (For once!)
Portillo was the ONLY one that night who told it how it was for the Tories. As for Twigg he soon ran off to a safe Labour seat once he got the boot just 8 years later. On a separate matter had Ashdown been a chocolate bar he would have eaten himself. Never seen a politician in love with himself as much as Paddy Pantsdown
Like many others who worked for a labour victory in 1997, little did anyone know the polices that were to follow.
Coming in with a budget deficit of £57 million, labour stuck to the Tories budget spending plans until 1999-2000.
In their first budget in 1998 they gave OAPs an 85p weekly increase in the state pension.
In 2000 they increased council grants on a regional basis. Councils in the South East had had an Area Cost Adjustment as part of their settlements, to reflect the higher wages/ salaries in the South. This was top sliced and added to the budgets of less well off Councils in the Midlands and North. As a result some councils had up to a £15 to £20M increase into their coffers,
These huge increases were always unlikely to be repeated, And despite warnings, many Councils included the increases into revenue spending, instead a capital investment. This led to many councils later having structural budget deficits. After being unable to retain annual increases of £15/20m.
When labour reduced the right to claim Job Seekers Allowance from 12 to 6 months, and if a claimants had a partner who earned over £16k they could not claim any other benefit to live on. They lost a great deal of support in 2001.
The policies of out sourcing great swathes of Council services never raised any national comments.
Blair once said people didn't care who provided services, provided they worked.
25 years on the abandonment of municipal housing, even the Tories left alone, saw the loss of housing offices and departments that played a crucial role for many generations from the 1930s until new labour.