In first 100 days, Blair lives up to commitments
August 8, 1997
Web posted at: 12:17 p.m. EDT (1617 GMT)LONDON (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has earned high marks in his first 100 days of office, fulfilling numerous election commitments that swept his Labour Party to power on May 1.
Most Britons approve of their new prime minister and the programs he has pushed early on. Political analysts acknowledge Blair has made gains, but contend Labour has yet to face a legitimate challenge.
Among the highlights of the administration so far:
- Reducing tension over Northern Ireland, where the Irish Republican Army has agreed to a fresh cease-fire.
- Banning handguns in response to the 1996 massacre in Dunblane, Scotland.
- Making the Bank of England independent.
- Starting far-reaching constitutional changes, offering unprecedented liberties to Scotland and Wales.
Ian Hargreaves, editor of The New Statesmen, says Labour was careful not to promise more than it could deliver ahead of the election.
"The specific promises before the election were really quite modest, and very few people were prepared for the blizzard of action that there has been," he said.
But Bill Emmot of The Economist argues that Blair and Labour are operating without clear direction.
"Tony Blair wants to be a radical. He wants to go down in history as the man who changed Britain and changed the way Britain was governed, but he has entered office not knowing how," Emmot said.
Blair's Labour Party devastated the Conservative Party in May parliamentary elections that ended Conservative's 18 consecutive years of power. The defeat was on a scale unseen for 165 years, with six Cabinet ministers losing. Defeated Prime Minister John Major, who had served six and a half years, resigned a day after the elections.
Labour rose to power on a platform that promised to "restore trust in politics" and reinvigorate Britain as the "people's government."
Many Britons like what they see so far.
"I'm a Conservative, but -- yes -- (Blair) seems to be doing okay," one Briton told CNN.
Added another, "The vast majority of the changes have been progressive."
While Labour has enjoyed political gains, it has failed to live up to its promise to clean up politics after a string of tawdry sex and money scandals that Labour says sullied the previous administration.
Since the election, Labour has been beset with a controversial suicide of a Labour member of parliament and a separate sex scandal, among others.
"We've had the foreign secretary revealing that he's been living with his secretary, rather than with his wife in Scotland," Hargreaves said, adding that "these are the routine trade of politics the world over."
CNN Correspondent Margaret Lowrie contributed to this report.
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