1987-97

• John Major was prime minister 1992-1997
• 1992 - Major won a landslide election victory of 14 million votes - greatest electoral victory any PM has ever had
• 1997 - Major’s time as PM came to an end when Labour won the 1997 national election under Tony Blair
• 1989 - Thatcher promoted Major to Foreign Secretary + then 3 months later, Major was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1992 election - Conservatives won 42% of the vote
• Major’s government:

  • government became increasingly unpopular despite the upturn in the economy during the mid-1990s -> because he introduced higher taxes in 1993 + the rise of scandals involving cabinet ministers over the years
• Black Wednesday (16 September 1992) - Major was forced to withdraw the British pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) because Britain couldn’t keep the pound within the exchange rate limits set by the European Community

  • This financial crisis cost Britain approximately £3.14 billion
• 1997 - Major resigned as PM when Conservatives lost to a landslide Labour victory but continued to serve as a local MP until 2001
• March 1991 - Major removed the poll tax which was very successful + didn’t cause a party divide
• Education Reform Act 1988:

  • Major continued the educational reforms that began under Thatcher
  • Major made nursery education available to all 4-year-olds + put plans in place to enable 3-year-olds to access nursery education as well
  • He also started league tables to monitor schools’ performance
• Maastricht Treaty 1992 - formed the European Union

  • Major was successful in passing the Maastricht Treaty in the House of Parliament
• Negotiations with Northern Ireland:

  • Major‘s peaceful + diplomatic negotiation with the Irish Republican Army to help end the Troubles in Northern Ireland was very successful + paved the way for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement - which ended the troubles
• Major Heart of Europe Speech:

  • Major’s pro-European stance was clearly demonstrated in his March 1991 speech at the Konrad Andenaer Foundation about his belief that Britain’s place should be ‘the heart of Europe’
• Failures of Major’s office:

  • Black Wednesday
  • sleaze scandals
  • deepening division of his party over Europe