On 11 September 1997 (the seven-hundredth anniversary of the Scottish victory over the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge) a referendum was held on devolving substantial power to a Scottish Parliament. Voters overwhelmingly voted to establish a Scottish parliament and grant it limited taxation powers. Two weeks later, a referendum on establishing a Welsh Assembly was also approved, by a narrow majority. The first elections were held, and these bodies began to operate, in 1999. Devolution was reintroduced to Northern Ireland at a similar time via the Good Friday agreement. The creation of these bodies widened geographic differences, especially in areas such as healthcare. New Labour also began a programme of devolution in England creating a London Mayorship and Assembly via referenda in 1998 and passing the Local Government Act 2000 which allowed English and Welsh local government's to hold referendums on introducing directly elected mayors in their areas. Though the Conservatives had historically been considered more critical of devolution than their Labour counterparts, this process continued after their return to government in 2010.