Remember 97?

[DonnyDoris]

Do you remember 97? I was a politics student at the time and the excitement of the change was unreal!! Does anyone feel that way this time round?

It was an amazing time. So much hope!

I remember it well.
It was very, very exciting.

We advised our 14 year old and 11 year old to stay up all night to watch the results coming in, as it was a historic occasion.

We sat up with lots of gin and snacks.

We're letting ours stay up tonight.

It's history isn't it?

That's a good way of looking at it!

I was in my mid-20s and remember it being a hugely exciting and optimistic time. My friends and I were beaming with excitement the day after the election, it felt so different and a genuinely fresh start. Locally we had a Labour MP elected for the first time ever. It doesn't feel like that this time, I know I'm older but I don't feel the hope and positivity any more

Yes I started a successful business the following year. They were a progressive party and leader. We had years of Tory heinous policies. I had lived overseas before returning to a really depressed country.
Tony Blair invigorated the country. He could court the press and anhiliated the pompous Tories. It felt great country to live in.....
I am older and wiser. I don't think Kier has the same smooge but I do think he's the best man for the job.

I do a little bit, but not the same kind of excitement and euphoria I felt in 1997. But I am very pleased that Labour won. (I voted for them.)

By the way, Reform only got 4 seats after all and not the 13 that was predicted last night. Thank God!

By the way, Reform only got 4 seats after all and not the 13 that was predicted last night. Thank God!

They came second in an awful lot of constituencies though

I was 34 and on my honeymoon in Jamaica and missed it all.

Your 14 and 11 year olds were drinking gin.?

😆 I assume it was only you drinking the gin?!

Did they? How many?

It was the 90s. The 11yo and 14yo were probably drinking diamond white 😉

(joke. Obvs)

It was the 90s. The 11yo and 14yo were probably drinking diamond white 😉

(joke. Obvs)

@Harrumphhhh

Don't be ridiculous. They were children.... it was mad dog 20/20. The blue one.

😁

😂 That is MY kind of parenting!

I remember the excitement. I just worry the country has deteriorated so far and they have so much to do to reverse the disaster of the last decade that I am less optimistic

I was a teen and it was my first election I could vote in (I passed my driving test that day as well)

I remember the sense of optimism although my parents were Conservative so they didn't share it.

Now I'm relieved the Tories are out, but I'm less optimistic in the fact that education, the NHS and public services seem so broken I'd be amazed if anyone could fix them. And they are all pretty intertwined so education can't be addressed in isolation without addressing CAMHs, social services etc...where would they even start.

I was lower sixth, parents voted Labour. I didn't really care but having to pay tuition fees for university was a first and then making close Iraqi friends at uni and understanding from their perspective was a shit face bum suckr of Bush actually Blair was, as well as the petrol crisis that bought the country to stand still in 2000, my parents never voted Labour again.

What stands out for me about 1997 was that just a few short months after moving into Downing Street, Tony Blair was having to lead the nation's grief for Princess Diana.

No.

I'm older and wiser. I'm glad we have a left-leaning government in place for public services sake but I have huge concerns around what this means for women and girls' rights.

I remember it well. Felt so exciting and like we really were on the brink of something wonderful & different.
Just don’t feel the same this time around and I’m not sure why?

Probably because I’m a lot older & jaded. ( answers own question )

20/20! Yes! I couldn’t remember the name of it…

I remember it. There was a real feeling of hope for the country, and an energy. It seems different this time but of course I am much older.

97 was the first time I've been genuinely excited about politics. I was early 20s and it felt glorious, a real change, especially for those of us from working class backgrounds whose parents were staunch labour voters.
It feels different this time. I'm older and wiser. I voted Labour so I'm happy with the result but I'm also not naive enough to think the country isn't fucked in a lot of ways we'll never come back from.