Tony Blair general election defeats) the Labour Party had to demonstrate that it had made a decisive break from its left-wing past, in order to win an election again. In May 1997, the Labour Party won a landslide general election victory, the largest in its history. Blair, at 43 years of age, became the youngest Prime Minister since 1812. In September 1997, Blair attained early personal popularity, receiving a 93% public approval rating, after his public response to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Labour Party went on to win two more general elections under his leadership: in 2001, in
Phil Hope and remained the MP there until the 2010 election. He made his maiden speech on 14 May 1997. In parliament he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the former Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions Nick Raynsford in 1999, and after the 2001 General Election he became the PPS to the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. He was promoted to the government of Tony Blair in 2003 as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State under his old boss at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He served as the