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
Official state car it bore Tony Blair to Buckingham Palace on the day after the 1997 general election. A British racing green X308 took Gordon Brown to Buckingham Palace on 6 April 2010 to request the dissolution of Parliament, but it was the 2000 model that took him on his last ride as Prime Minister. All former prime ministers since 1975 have been provided with an armoured car, usually the same model as the current Prime Minister, along with police protection. John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were provided with cars. Blair also bought his own bespoke BMW 7 Series. The British