Blair and Brown - The New Labour Revolution (S01 complete) (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)

The story of two powerful personalities at the heart of a political phenomenon. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and their closest allies chart the rise and difficult legacy of New Labour.

E01
Two young MPs, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are determined to modernise the Labour party against a backdrop of economic strife and dire election failures.

E02
A landslide victory puts the Labour party back into power after nearly two decades. Tony Blair, who had never previously held a cabinet position, is now prime minister. A steep and daunting learning curve lays ahead of him. As he grapples with the vast government machine, Gordon Brown hits the ground running. His first move as chancellor is to make the Bank of England independent – a seismic change that Brown announces in his first days in office. The message was clear: Gordon Brown was going to end years of Tory ‘boom and bust’ and transform Labour’s economic reputation. By the autumn of 1997, Tony Blair had made significant inroads in Northern Ireland and was working towards an unprecedented peace agreement. He was in tune with the public’s outpouring of grief after the tragic death of Princess Diana. Just a few months into their first term, Prime Minister and Chancellor had introduced Britain to a new type of politics. They were in the process of transforming the country. But as their popularity ratings soar, cracks start to appear from within the New Labour operation. The teams at No 10 and No.11 – fiercely loyal to their respective leaders – begin to turn on each other. When Brown’s press secretary Charlie Whelan is blamed for leaking a story about Blair’s long-time ally Peter Mandelson, both Whelan and Mandelson are forced to resign. It is a major blow to the slick New Labour brand. Blair and Brown have lost a lieutenant each, and political rivalries within the party start to turn personal. Press and public interest in the party’s relationship dynamic will haunt them for years to come.

E03
Millennium celebrations are tempered by a feeling across the country that New Labour haven’t yet delivered what they promised when they first came to power in 1997. Prime Minister Tony Blair decides to regroup and refocus. He turns his attention to public services, aiming to put choice at the heart of reform and stepping firmly outside of the Old Labour tradition. As Tony Blair pushes for radical reform, Gordon Brown’s focus is on poverty and inequality with large increases in child benefits and NHS spending. But with No. 10 and No. 11 acting as two distinct centres of power, tensions between each of their camps – the Brownites and the Blairites – were rising. Blair’s vision of a New Labour for a 21st-century Britain seems to drift further from Brown’s more traditional Labour values. Midway through its first term in power, New Labour faces a rocky period. A bumpy speech to the Women’s Institute, criticism over the Millennium Dome and a national fuel crisis test the popularity of the Prime Minister, and cast shadows of doubt over his ability to achieve a second election victory. To make matters worse, Peter Mandelson is embroiled in yet another media frenzy. With Tony Blair’s first re-election looming, he and his team decide that Peter has to go. Despite tensions and ideological differences between Prime Minister and Chancellor, New Labour is re-elected by a landslide in 2001– marking the first time Labour would ever serve a consecutive full term in its 100-year history. But as Blair and Brown move into their second term in power, the question of leadership and succession quickly starts to dominate.

E04
Following the catastrophic terror attacks on 11th September 2001, Tony Blair flies to the U.S. and promises to stand beside them no matter what. Blair and his team keep America focused on Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda – the terror group responsible for the attacks – and its leader Osama Bin Laden are based. But soon the Pentagon begins to shift military resources away from Afghanistan and towards Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, which has become a chief threat in George Bush’s ‘War on Terror.’ Over the following months, Tony Blair fulfils his promise to stand by America while also trying to persuade President Bush to seek U.N. backing on the Iraq conflict. At the same time, the Prime Minister faces huge criticism from the British public and Parliament for supporting America’s ambition to topple Saddam Hussein. Some of his most vocal critics are from his own party. But Blair is convinced of the evils of Hussein’s dictatorship, commits himself to defending Western democracy and values. In March 2003, Blair defeats a Commons anti-war vote with a majority of 179. It is the final obstacle to UK involvement in the war with Iraq. We chart the fallout of British Intelligence reports suggesting the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, and New Labour’s decision to publicise those findings – leading to a media frenzy and, some months later, to the tragic death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly. After the resignation of Blair’s closest ally and defender, Alastair Campbell, he is more exposed than ever as members of his own party continue to speak out against him. The conflict begins in May 2003, quickly displacing Saddam Hussein and toppling his empire. But celebrations turn into violence when sectarian tensions begin to flare up. We hear Tony Blair and his ministers reflect on the war, defending their decisions and voicing regrets at the handling of the aftermath.

E05
In 2005, Labour’s General Election campaign was fought against the backdrop of the Iraq war. Tony Blair and New Labour are in a precarious position. Popularity ratings are low and, to top it off, the relationship between Blair and his Chancellor Gordon Brown has hit rock bottom. In order to win a third term in office, they agree to put their differences aside and form a united front.

The display of unity works and New Labour wins for a third time. But a new question looms over the government. Tony Blair had agreed with Gordon Brown that he wouldn’t serve a full third term as Prime Minister. As Brown’s allies press the Prime Minister for a departure date, Blair has a change of heart. He felt that more needed to be done before he could step aside, and he wasn’t convinced that Brown would fulfil New Labour’s modernising agenda. To Brown’s surprise and frustration, Blair tells the press he will be staying on as leader. The “coup” that follows was a bubbling over of tensions within the Labour government. Blair had lost the support of many Labour MPs over Iraq, and the apparent U-turn over his departure sparked outrage among the Brownites who felt it was high time for Blair to go. After being pushed into announcing a departure date, Tony Blair steps down as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007. Gordon Brown is finally able to take the reins. But leading the country is very different to leading the Treasury, and a series of crises put the dampeners on any agenda Brown had wanted to put forward. His popularity dives further when he fails to call an election. Then, just months after taking office, a global financial crash threatens to destroy economies across the world. We tell the story of how Gordon Brown reacted to the economic crisis, bringing together world leaders and trying to save the global economy. Despite this, the public turn against the Brown government and in 2010, after 13 years in power, New Labour is finally forced out of office.


First broadcast:  4 October 2021
Duration:  1 hour per episode
Torrent dead? Request reseed at torrentgalaxy.org - or ask at elsonroa at tutanota.com