MAJOR

• Chosen as safe candidate


  People trusted him compared to Thatcher
• John Major


  • Few enemies, unlike Thatcher because he took a loyal approach to politics
• 1992 General Election


  1. Kinnock expected a Labour victory

  2. Major carried out a modest campaign, where he went out and spoke to people on a soapbox

  3. Made him seem more in touch with the public
• Kinnock's US style election rally in Sheffield

  Made them look too optimistic
• Tabloid press supported the Conservatives in 1992
• Major won the 1992 election
• 1995 - 'Back me or Sack me'


  1. Due to splits and opponents in his party, Major resigned as party leader, but then immediately stood for re-election

  2. He challenged any of his opponents to stand for re-election

  3. Redwood stood but was easily defeated by Major
• Satire portrayal of Major

  • Spitting Image portrayed him as a boing, grey man
  • Private Eye portrayed him as a nerdy schoolchild
• Only voted in as Thatcher urged the party to vote for him
• Major was seen as the 'stop Heseltine' candidate
• 1990 - Labour was ahead in the opinion polls


  Major won a safe Conservative seat in the mid-Staffordshire by-election
• 1991 - Citizens Charter

  1. Major promised league tables, shorter hospital waiting times and an overall promise to meet the people's objectives

  2. Criticised as being too ambitious - he would now have to meet these promises
• 1992 - Cones Hotline was a failed policy, was ridiculed by many
• 1993 - 'Back to Basics' campaign


  1. Supposed to restore British values but backfired as journalists discovered lots of misdemeanours in Major's cabinet

  2. These included sex scandals and bribery, e.g. MP Hamilton accepted money from Mohammad Al Fayed to ask questions in parliament
• Should Major have had to do the 'Back me or Sack me' in the first place


  Lack of trust and unity in cabinet, was this a risky choice?
• The emergence of Blair with his new modern ideas and the 'New Labour' campaign made Major look weak and out of place as leader
• 1993 - Downing Street Declaration

  1. Signed by Major and new President of the Republic of Ireland Reynolds

  2. Included various peace treaties, such as Ireland, both North and South being able to solve issues between themselves without interference from other countries
• 1994 - IRA announced a ceasefire that was initially held
• Bombings in mainland Britain continued - London Stock Exchange and Downing Street were both targeted
• Guildford 4 and Birmingham 6 were released from prison as they were falsely imprisoned - made the British government look weak and strengthened IRA support
• 1993 - Warrington Bombing killed 3, injured 56
• Hard-line paramilitary groups resisted the Downing Street Declaration
• 1996 - London Docklands and Arndale Centre Bombings - Ceasefire held for 18 months, then these bombings took place causing millions of pounds worth of damage
• Sinn Fein distanced itself from the 1996 bombings
• Child Support Agency


  Attempted to penalise absentee fathers, a well-intentioned policy introduced by Thatcher and Major to address the growing number of single parent families
• Environmental Protestors


  • Gained more significance in this period and began to challenge projects such as Newbury by-pass
• 3rd Wave Feminism


  Differences between men and women should be celebrated not eradicated, also campaigned for female empowerment
• Achievements of 3rd Wave Feminism

  • First female speaker in HOC and MI5
  • Ordination of women priests
  • Equal tax status
  • Equal retirement age
• Major's social conservatism


  Said the events of the 1960s social revolution, such as Jenkins Reforms, had gone too far
• CSA largely failed and was scrapped in 2017
• 1993 murder of Stephen Lawerence not properly investigated, showed the Met Police was institutionally racist and change was needed
• Ladette Culture


  Outraged and was criticised by many
• John Major


  Gained a banking qualification, had been Chancellor, public trusted him to handle the economy
• 'White Wednesday' - years later the successes of Black Friday became known - it improved the international competitiveness of the British economy
• When Major came into office

  The economy was already in a bad state - rising unemployment, interest rates at 10%, which made mortgages expensive and forcing many into 'negative equity'
• Black Friday


  Currency speculators attacked the pound, forcing the gov to intervene by raising inflation from 10% to 12% and then further to 15% to keep its value high, but this didn't work - £3.4 billion was lost in one day
• Con reputation for being able to handle the economy had been destroyed
• 1992 Maastricht Treaty


  Switch from the EEC to the EU, move to a political union
• Major's 'opt outs'


  He managed to negotiate, protect British interests, and keep the euro-sceptics happy. Britain would not join the Single European Currency and would not accept the Social Chapter
• 1991 The 1st Gulf War - Major supported the USA in 'Operation Desert Storm', which was a short and successful lived conflict. It also strengthened the Special Relationship between Major and Bush