Tony Blair opposed the PR system, and many members of the Shadow Cabinet were worried about concessions being made towards the Lib Dems. In the event, vitually every opinion poll since late-1992 put Labour ahead with enough support to form an overall majority. Blair became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 2 May 1997, serving concurrently as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Labour Party. Aged 43, Blair became the youngest person to become Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool became Prime Minister aged 42 in 1812. With victories in 1997, 2001, and
Premiership of Tony Blair principle of separation of powers. In this context, Blair had four defeats in the Parliament, including an amendment that would have allowed the conditional detention of terrorism suspects. Political commentators have also pointed to the constant tussle between the Chancellor Gordon Brown and Tony Blair as evidence that the Prime Minister was not all too powerful. This, according to them, demonstrates that the Cabinet was still an effective arena for political dialogue. Gordon Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom from the Labour Party's 1997 general election victory on 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007,