ABSTRACT
Although the extent of the Labour party's landslide victory in the general election of 1 May 1997 came as a shock to some, its entrance into government came as a surprise to no-one, not least the team of foreign office officials who awaited Cook. The broad principles of Labour party policy on flexibility and justice and home affairs (JHA) communitisation had also remained pretty much unchanged since the 1995 document, although the details of these had been fleshed out further with Butler's assistance in early 1997. Aside from the discussions within the various intergovernmental conference (IGC) representative and ministerial meetings, the government was also pursuing its IGC strategy through bilateral contacts with other member states, forming alliances with various member states on a range of issues. In terms of democratising decision-making, the changes of government in the UK and France had been integral to agreement reached at Amsterdam to increase the powers of the European Parliament (EP).
