Theresa May was elected as MP for Maidenhead.
The United Kingdom general election of 1997 was held on 1 May 1997 , five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992 , to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons .. House of Commons. House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 659 members. List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1997. British House of Commons. House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Under the leadership of Tony Blair , the Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition and won the general election with a landslide victory , winning 418 seats , the most seats the party has ever held , and the highest proportion of seats held by any party in the post-war era .. Tony Blair. Tony Blair. Labour Party. Labour Party ( UK ). landslide victory. landslide victory. opposition. Official Opposition ( United Kingdom ). The election saw a huge 10.2 % swing from the Conservatives to Labour on a national turnout of 71 % and would be the last national vote where turnout exceeded 70 % until the 2016 EU referendum was held nineteen years later .. 2016 EU referendum. United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016. Blair , as a result , became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , a position he held until his resignation in 2007 .. Prime Minister. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Under Blair 's leadership , the Labour Party had adopted a more centrist policy platform under the name ` New Labour ' .. Labour Party. Labour Party ( UK ). centrist. centrism. New Labour. New Labour. This was seen as moving away from the traditionally more left-wing stance of the Labour Party .. Labour Party. Labour Party ( UK ). Labour made several campaign pledges such as the creation of a National Minimum Wage , devolution referendums for Scotland and Wales and promised greater economic competence than the Conservatives , who were unpopular following the events of Black Wednesday in 1992 .. National Minimum Wage. National Minimum Wage Act 1998. devolution. Devolution in the United Kingdom. Scotland. Scotland. Wales. Wales. Black Wednesday. Black Wednesday. The Labour campaign was ultimately a success and the party returned an unprecedented 418 MPs and began the first of three consecutive terms for Labour in government .. However , 1997 remains the last election in which Labour had a net gain of seats .. A record number of women were elected to parliament , 120 , of whom 101 were Labour MPs .. This was in part thanks to Labour 's policy of using all-women shortlists .. all-women shortlists. all-women shortlists. The Conservative Party was led by incumbent Prime Minister John Major and ran their campaign emphasising falling unemployment and a strong economic recovery following the early 1990s recession .. John Major. John Major. Prime Minister. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Conservative Party. Conservative Party ( UK ). early 1990s recession. early 1990s recession. However , a series of scandals , party disunity over the European Union , the events of Black Wednesday and a desire of the electorate for change after 18 years of Tory rule all contributed to the Conservatives ' worst defeat since 1906 , with only 165 MPs elected to Westminster , as well as their lowest percentage share of the vote since 1832 .. Black Wednesday. Black Wednesday. European Union. European Union. United Kingdom general election, 1906. United Kingdom general election, 1832. The party was left with no seats whatsoever in Scotland or Wales , and many key Conservative politicians , including Defence Secretary Michael Portillo , Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind , Trade Secretary Ian Lang , Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth and former ministers Edwina Currie , Norman Lamont , David Mellor and Neil Hamilton lost their parliamentary seats .. Scotland. Scotland. Wales. Wales. Michael Portillo. Michael Portillo. Malcolm Rifkind. Malcolm Rifkind. Ian Lang. Ian Lang. Michael Forsyth. Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean. Edwina Currie. Edwina Currie. Norman Lamont. Norman Lamont. David Mellor. David Mellor. Neil Hamilton. Neil Hamilton ( politician ). However , future Prime Minister Theresa May was elected to the safe Conservative seat at Maidenhead , and future Speaker John Bercow in the seat at Buckingham .. Prime Minister. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Theresa May. Theresa May. Maidenhead. Maidenhead. John Bercow. John Bercow. Buckingham. Buckingham. Following the defeat , the Conservatives began their longest continuous spell in opposition in the history of the present day -LRB- post -- Tamworth Manifesto -RRB- Conservative Party , and indeed the longest such spell for any incarnation of the Tories / Conservatives since the 1760s , lasting 13 years .. Conservative Party. Conservative Party ( UK ). opposition. Official Opposition ( United Kingdom ). Tamworth Manifesto. Tamworth Manifesto. Tories. Tory ( British political party ). The Liberal Democrats , under Paddy Ashdown , returned 46 MPs to parliament , the most for any third party since 1929 and more than double the amount of seats they got in 1992 , despite a drop in popular vote .. Paddy Ashdown. Paddy Ashdown. Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrats ( UK ). United Kingdom general election, 1929. The Scottish National Party -LRB- SNP -RRB- returned 6 MPs , double their total in 1992 .. Scottish National Party. Scottish National Party. As with all general elections since the early 1950s , the results were broadcast live on the BBC ; the presenters were David Dimbleby , Peter Snow and Jeremy Paxman .. David Dimbleby. David Dimbleby. Peter Snow. Peter Snow. Jeremy Paxman. Jeremy Paxman