General elections shape British politics. The 1997 election transformed the British political landscape and broke all records. After 18 years in opposition, Labour returned to government with 419 MPs and a majority of 179 seats. The scale of Labour's victory, and the Conservative's defeat, was the result of the biggest shift in the support from one party to another this century; to describe this as a landslide may not sufficiently covey the sheer magnitude of the events. This volume brings together leading academics to analyze the results and assess the key issues including the Conservative party and sleaze, Europe, the economy, Northern Ireland and constitutional reform.