Traditionally left-wing mainstream political party in the UK. Recently, following the eighteen-year Conservative administration, Labour re-invented itself as New Labour, with the idea of being less union-controlled. Many of their traditional supporters felt that Tony Blair was selling out socialism for Thatcherism in this, but the revitalised party proceeded to win a huge landslide victory in the 1997 general election, so something must have worked. Tony Blair's predecessor as leader was the late John Smith, who died in office. He was preceded by Neil Kinnock, and before him by KGB agent Michael Foot.