Out in the cold

The business year in pictures

Adverse weather conditions hit London in mid-January 1997 but John Major continued to feel the chill until he was thrown out of office by the electorate on 1 May. It was the single currency that sank Mrs Thatcher in 1990 and it was the single currency that sank Mr Major seven years later.

By which time Tony Blair ( pictured below addressing the CBI conference) had refashioned the Labour Party from an old-line Socialist outfit, unreconciled to the power of the markets in the late 20th century, into a Christian Democratic grouping that is seeking to bring prosperity through social justice to Britain.