 Unfortunately for Major, his attempts to win public support and swing the election in favour of the Tories did not work.Even "The Sun" newspaper, which had championed the Conservatives five years earlier and claimed to have won the 1992 general election for the party, declared its support for Tony Blair's "New Labour", condemning the Tories as "tired, divided and rudderless".On 1 May 1997, the Conservative Party suffered the worst electoral defeat by a ruling party since the Reform Act 1832.