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Wednesday, 6 June, 2001, 21:35 GMT 22:35 UK
Campaign unfolds
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Over the course of the election campaign, BBC News Online will provide an on-demand record of the story of the campaign.
Watch/listen to coverage from Week One Watch/listen to coverage from Week Two Watch/listen to coverage from Week Three Watch/listen to coverage from Week Four
Tony Blair wins an historic second term for Labour after a landslide leaving the commons much as it looked before the poll. William Hague resigned as leader of the Tory party and Charles Kennedy celebrated a record number of seats for the Liberal Democrats. The BBC's Mark Mardell reports.
6 June 2001
Lady Thatcher returned to the campaign trail, as all the political parties urged people to go out and vote on Thursday. Mr Hague thinks he can see a Tory revival, a claim swiftly rebutted by Labour, as the BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
5 June 2001
Lady Thatcher returned to the campaign trail, as all the political parties urged people to go out and vote on Thursday. Mr Hague thinks he can see a Tory revival, a claim swiftly rebutted by Labour, as the BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
4 June 2001
A BBC investigation discovers that it is possible to obtain polling cards in the names of people who have died, highlighting the potential for fraud in the postal vote system. The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
Four years since the last election, congestion on the roads is no better, two serious accidents have caused chaos on the railways, and fuel protestors have managed for a brief period to bring the country to a halt - and yet, transport has barely featured in this election. The BBC's Paul Moss reports.
The UK's 36,000 family doctors concentrated the minds of the politicians on health, with a dire warning that the service they provide is on the brink of collapse. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
Labour accuses the Tories of encouraging voter apathy in an attempt to get in by the back door, as Lady Thatcher warns of the danger of a Labour landslide.
31 May 2001
With seven days to go to the election, and all the opinion polls still showing Labour way ahead, the Conservative leader, William Hague has warned of the consequences of a Labour landslide. Tony Blair has said he will devote the next week to what he called a "crusade" for schools and hospitals. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
30 May 2001
Opinion polls suggest the public has hardly been influenced at all by three weeks of campaigning, with the Liberal Democrats gaining slight support at the expense of the other two main parties. The BBC's Peter Snow examines the latest figures.
The election in Northern Ireland has been dominated by the decommissioning of terrorist weapons, and the future of the Good Friday Agreement. Weapons inspectors say they are satisfied that IRA weapons dumps are secure, but that statement was not enough to satisfy some unionists, who remain bitterly opposed to the agreement. The BBC's Kevin Connolly reports.
In Scotland William Hague attacked Labour on pensions, while the SNP pledged to increase police numbers. The BBC's Scottish Political Editor, John Morrison reports.
29 May 2001
The election took a much more personal turn with the two major parties trading insults about each other's leaders. The former Prime Minister, John Major, talked of Tony Blair's "blatant deceit", and Labour brought out a new poster of William Hague. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
European Commission president Romano Prodi's call for an EU-wide tax to pay its £60bn-a-year running costs has fanned the flames in the election debate over Europe. The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
28 May 2001
The arguments over Europe were again at the heart of the election campaign. The Conservatives claimed that converting the pound to the euro could cost Britain £36 billion. Labour called the figure nonsense, while the Liberal Democrats dismissed the Tory campaign as a single issue obsession. The BBC's Mark Mardell reports.
The row was fuelled by a speech from the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who outlined his plans for the future of Europe, including the spectre of tax harmonisation. The BBC's Justin Webb reports.
27 May 2001
The political temperature was raised when the Lib Dems claimed that language used by the Conservatives on asylum could have been a factor in causing riots in Oldham. Tory leader William Hague denied they had fuelled the disturbances, a claim supported by Labour.
Scottish Nationalist leader John Swinney made a keynote speech saying full independence is the only way forward for Scotland.
William Hague has stepped up his campaign on the pound and Europe. On Friday, Tony Blair told a newspaper that he was confident he could convince people to join the Euro, if the conditions were right. The Liberal Democrats said Mr Hague's campaign on the pound was the act of a desperate man. The BBC's John Pienaar reports
25 May 2001
Tony Blair, intent on highlighting another big divide from the Conservatives, accused them of playing with fire, by pursuing policies that could end with Britain leaving the European Union. William Hague accused Mr. Blair of being hell-bent on taking Britain into the Euro, and said it was a funny form of patriotism to say we couldn't run our own affairs. The BBC's Political Editor Andrew Marr reports.
The BBC's Peter Morgan examines what joining the euro - or leaving the EU - could mean for the UK.
All three parties have been accused of failing to give women key campaigning roles and one poll has suggested that women are now less likely to vote than they were at the start of the campaign. The BBC's Reeta Chakrabati reports.
24 May 2001
Tony Blair said public services were the central dividing line from the Tories, whom he again accused of being the party of cuts. William Hague said Conservatives would match Labour spending on schools and hospitals. The Liberal Democrats focussed on schools, and their promise to find extra money from higher taxes. The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
All three parties spent the day in Bristol, Gavin Hewitt gauged the city's reaction.
Church leaders warn politicians against indulging in negative, short-term and self-serving campaigning. The BBC's Grant Ferrett reports.
23 May 2001
The Conservatives say EU proposals on tax harmonisation will lead to the UK having to put up taxes; Chancellor Gordon Brown denies the charge, accusing the Tories of another "smear". The BBC's Mark Mardell reports.
A new poll suggests the highest Labour rating of the campaign, but follows another this morning showing the lowest Labour lead so far. The BBC's Peter Snow explains.
22 May 2001
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has launched a scathing attack on "artificial" new Labour. She also categorically states she would never be prepared to join the European currency. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt listened to her intervention.
Tax rumbled on as a central issue in the campaign, with Gordon Brown and Michael Portillo slugging it out over national insurance contributions. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
Foot and mouth returns with some voters complaining that the issue is being ignored by politicians during the election campaign. The BBC's Richard Wells reports:
21 May 2001
Mr Blair has explained how a re-elected Labour government would renew the big public services. But Labour wouldn't be drawn on the Conservative allegation that National Insurance would have to go up. The BBC's Mark Mardell reports.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath refuses to say whether he thinks Tony Blair or William Hague will make the better Prime Minister. He was first asked about his reported comment that it would be "good" for the Tories to lose the election.
19 May 2001 Tony Blair at the launch of his party's policy on pensions is treated with respect by pensioners in Cardiff despite his government's notorious decision to raise pensions by just 75p. The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
18 May 2001
The day was dominated by the brawl involving John Prescott at a rally in Wales. The Prime Minister praised his deputy, and attempted to play down the incident, while William Hague and Charles Kennedy both expressed regret that the incident ever happened. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports. 17 May 2001
Tony Blair's "radical" manifesto for transforming Britain's public services over the next decade was launched in Birmingham - but was spoilt almost immediately when he was confronted by a voter, Sharron Storer over the state of the NHS. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
16 May 2001
Conservative defector turned Labour candidate Shaun Woodward is to face opposition from a party activist who is to run against him as a Socialist Alliance candidate. Labour member Neil Thomson - who faces expulsion from the party - will challenge Mr Woodward in the St Helens South constituency. The BBC's Reeta Chakrabarti reports.
15 May 2001
The Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto, with a unique promise to raise taxes in order to fund a sustained growth in public services. Other parties said their figures didn't add up, as the BBC's Andrew Marr reports. 14 May 2001
The BBC's Political Editor, Andrew Marr, looks at how tax dominated the day's campaigning for the three main party leaders. 9 May 2001
Two venerable parliamentarians, Sir Edward Heath and Tony Benn, say goodbye to the House of Commons with a shared warning to younger members. The BBC's Andrew Marr speaks to them about their hopes and fears for the future.
Watch Sir Edward Heath's farewell speech in full.
Listen to Tony Benn's goodbye speech in full.
10 May 2001
Later that night, Shadow Social Security Secretary David Willetts seemed to suggest on Newsnight that the £8 billion worth of tax cuts might be more like £7 billion.
11 May 2001
The Tory party leader William Hague kickstarts his campaign in Scotland, taking the opportunity to challenge Labour on taxes. Mr Hague challenges Labour to commit itself to a tax freeze. He sounded the Scots Tory election call when he launched the manifesto entitled Time For Common Sense in Scotland.
12 May 2001
William Hague is challenged by Labour and the Liberal Democrats over comments made by a Conservative MP over the single currency. The BBC's Shaun Ley reports on the reaction to Sir Peter Tapsell's comparison of Germany's blueprint for future European union with Hitler's Mein Kampf.
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