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
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who wrote two books, namely, "The Rise of the British Presidency", and "The British Presidency: Tony Blair and the Politics of Public Leadership" that are solely dedicated to the subject of presidentialisation in Britain. Foley writes: "The British Prime Minister has to all intents and purposes turned, not into a British version of an American president, but into an authentically British president". The thesis has been widely applied to the premiership of Tony Blair as many sources such as former ministers have suggested that decision-making was controlled by him and Gordon Brown, and the Cabinet was no longer used for