May 1, 1997: The Labour Party wins a solid majority in Britain's national election. It is their 1st election win in 23 years, and leads to their 1st time in power in 18 years. The new Prime Minister will be their Leader, Tony Blair.
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair was born on May 6, 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland -- on the same day as another polarizing figure from Scotland, soccer star and manager Graeme Souness. With the Labour Party having been tainted by accusations of Socialism, and ridiculed through 18 years of Conservative Party government -- 11 1/2 under Margaret Thatcher, and 6 1/2 under John Major -- Blair looked at the success of America's President, Bill Clinton, a member of the Democratic Party, but a master of "Third Way" or "triangulation" politics.
So Blair, succeeding as Leader of Labour, changed its direction. "New Labour" would embrace free-market reforms, as the Conservatives, or "Tories," did under Thatcher, while maintaining Labour's previous standards of fighting for working people and the National Health Service. He even titled his campaign pamphlet New Britain. (The citizens of New Britain, Connecticut were not contacted for comment, by the media of either country.)
He was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1997 to 2007, winning a slightly reduced majority in the 2001 election, and taking a hit but maintaining his majority in 2005. He was an icon for the Labour Party, although the Tories called him "Tony Blur," because his New Labour had blurred the lines between Labour's traditional socialism and Thatcher's sadistic Tory economics, which the Tories actually liked about him.
But the entire country turned on him when he supported the Iraq War in 2003. Now, both major parties hate him. His actions since, including cozying up to American corporations, have further smeared his image. He could have been a great man. Instead, he let his friendship with George W. Bush take him down a terrible path.
UPDATE: In 1997, Tony Blair looked like the Scottish Bill Clinton: A political wizard who would fix everything right-wingers broke. In 2003, he looked like a "9/11 Democrat": Too scared of terrorism to oppose Bush and Dick Cheney. In 2026, with his demands that Labour move right and align with Donald Trump, he looks like a posh Zell Miller: A turncoat asshole.
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May 1, 1997 was a Thursday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were in progress, but no games were scheduled. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Orlando Magic beat their arch-rivals, the Miami Heat, 99-91 at the Orlando Arena. Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway scored 41 points. And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 122-115 in overtime at the America West Arena in Phoenix.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 7-3 at Shea Stadium. Andy Ashby outpitch Dave Mlicki. John Flaherty, later a catcher and broadcaster for the Yankees, went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson was with the Padres at the time, but did not get into this game.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 4-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Pedro Martínez pitched a 3-hit shutout. Darrin Fletcher hit a home run.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Pedro Astacio allowed 9 hits, but kept a shutout. Derrick May got 4 of them. Todd Zeile hit a home run for the Dodgers.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts against his former team.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. David Justice went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Manny Ramirez and Omar Vizquel also homered for the Tribe.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. John Smoltz outpitched Dave Burba.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Scott Erickson outpitched Scott Aldred. Cal Ripken went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 3-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. José Rosado had a 3-hit shutout going after 7 2/3rds innings, Mitch Williams finished the 8th, and Jim Converse finished the 4-hit shutout. Chili Davis hit a home run, and Jay Bell went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Boston Red Sox and the Anaheim Angels were rained out at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 25. The Angels swept, 5-4 and 8-5.
* And the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.
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