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
Premiership of Tony Blair of tolerance and fairness." He later said the debate showed Britain wanted to be "defined by being a tolerant, fair and decent country." Premiership of Tony Blair The premiership of Tony Blair began on 2 May 1997 and ended upon his resignation on 27 June 2007. Whilst serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair concurrently served as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service, the Leader of the Labour Party (until Gordon Brown was declared Labour leader on 24 June 2007) and the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield. He remains a Privy