Should the 1997 general election be viewed as a critical election?

In this essay I will assess whether or not the 1997 general election can be seen as a critical election or just an election, which didnt bear much significance to the way Britain, is now. A critical election is defined as those exceptional contests, which produce abrupt, significant and durable realignments in the electorate with major consequences for the long term party order . Within the critical election there are three inter related features that are, realignments in the ideological basis of party competition; realignments in the social basis of party support and realignments in the partisan loyalties in electorate. Using many different sources I will try to come to a suitable conclusion as to whether or not the 1997 general election caused an abrupt and significant change in the electorate and the parties themselves and the way in which Britain is now run today….(short extract)