Blair ministry the May 1997 election with a 179-seat majority. The Prime Minister Tony Blair, who turned 44 years old 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 in the 1960s and 70's 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
1994 Labour Party (UK) leadership election the next election. John Prescott, who had stood at the 1992 deputy leadership election and lost to Beckett, stood again for both Leader and Deputy Leader. The "electoral college" system that had been introduced meant that the votes of members of affiliated groups (mostly trade unions), the members of constituency parties, and Labour MPs were all weighted equally. <section begin="Result"/> <section end="Result"/> Tony Blair won, and led the party to its first general election victory for twenty three years at the 1997 Election. Prescott won the deputy leadership poll, and went on to become Deputy Prime Minister during Blair's premiership.