Election '97 - Live Interviews with Tony Blair, John Major and Paddy Ashdown (1997)

In April 1997, ITN's Michael Brunson conducted live interviews with the three main party leaders, just one week before the country headed to the polls. Liberal Democrats leader Paddy Ashdown, interviewed on 23 April, argued that there was no real difference between the Conservatives and New Labour, and that only a vote for the Lib Dems would see increased investment in health and education. The next day, Labour Party leader Tony Blair sought to put across his party's vision of Britain as a country that could "do better", while attacking the legacy of the Conservatives' 17 years in power as well as their plans for pensions. The final interview, recorded on 25 April, saw UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader John Major accuse Tony Blair of deliberately trying to "frighten" the electorate ahead of polling day, primarily by making statements about Tory policies which were "flatly untrue".

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