Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
and
Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
, formerly
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
, from 1979 to 2001. Prior to becoming prime minister, he served as
Foreign Secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
and
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
in the
third Thatcher government
Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 4 May 1979 to 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative majority government. She was the first woman to hold that office. During her prem ...
.
Having left school a day before turning sixteen, Major was elected to
Lambeth London Borough Council
Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall ...
in 1968, and a decade later to parliament, where he held several junior government positions, including
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
and
assistant whip. Following
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
's resignation in 1990, Major stood in the
1990 Conservative Party leadership election
The 1990 Conservative Party leadership election was called on 14 November 1990 following the decision of Michael Heseltine, former defence and environment secretary, to challenge Margaret Thatcher, the incumbent Prime Minister of the United K ...
to replace her and emerged victorious, becoming prime minister. Two years into
his premiership, Major went on to lead the Conservative Party to a
fourth consecutive electoral victory, winning more than 14 million votes, which remains the highest number ever won by a political party in Britain.
As prime minister, Major created the
Citizen's Charter
The Citizen's Charter was a British political initiative launched by the then prime minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership.
Aims
It aimed to improve public services in the UK by:
*Making administration acco ...
, removed the
Poll Tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
and replaced it with the
Council Tax
Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge
The Community C ...
, committed British troops to the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, took charge of the UK's negotiations over the
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
, led the country during
the early 1990s economic crisis, withdrew the
pound from the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as p ...
(on
Black Wednesday
Black Wednesday (or the 1992 Sterling crisis) occurred on 16 September 1992 when the UK Government was forced to withdraw sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after a failed attempt to keep its exchange rate above the ...
), promoted the socially conservative
back to basics campaign,
privatised the railways and coal industry, and played a pivotal role in creating
peace in Northern Ireland.
In 1995, Major resigned as party leader, amid internal divisions over UK membership of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, parliamentary scandals (widely known as "sleaze") and questions over his economic credibility. Despite being reelected as Conservative leader, his administration remained unpopular, and soon lost its parliamentary majority. He suffered a massive defeat in the
1997 election, when the
Labour Party ended 18 years of Conservative rule, with the Tories losing 178 seats. Major immediately resigned as party leader and gave up his seat in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. He was succeeded as Conservative leader by
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.
Since leaving office, Major has pursued business and charitable interests, making occasional political interventions. He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
in 2005 for services to politics and charity. Major is viewed as average in
historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers.
Early life and education (1943–1959)
![260_Longfellow_Road](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/260_Longfellow_Road.png)
John Major was born on 29 March 1943 at
St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in
St Helier
St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...
, Surrey, the son of Gwen Major (''née'' Coates, 1905–1970) and former
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
performer
Tom Major-Ball (1879–1962), who was 63 years old when Major was born. He was christened "John Roy Major" but only "John Major" was recorded on his
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
; he used his middle name until the early 1980s.
His birth had been a difficult one, with his mother suffering from
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
and
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and John Major requiring several blood transfusions due to an infection, causing permanent scarring to his ankles.
The Major family (John, his parents, and his two older siblings
Terry
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albrit ...
and Pat) lived at 260 Longfellow Road,
Worcester Park
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...
, Surrey, a middle-class area where Major's father ran a garden ornaments business and his mother worked in a local library and as a part-time dance teacher. John Major later described the family's circumstances at this time as being "comfortable but not well off". Following a German
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
attack in the area in 1944 which killed several people, the Majors moved to the village of
Saham Toney
Saham Toney is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is North of Thetford, west of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies west of the town of Attleborough. The nearest railway station is at At ...
, Norfolk, for the duration of the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.
John began attending primary school at Cheam Common School from 1948. His childhood was generally happy, and he enjoyed reading, sports (especially
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
) and keeping pets, such as his rabbits. In 1954 John passed the
11+
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
exam, enabling him to go to
Rutlish School
Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London.
History
The sc ...
, a grammar school in
Merton Park
Merton Park is a suburb in the London Borough of Merton. It is situated between Colliers Wood, Morden, South Wimbledon and Raynes Park. It is 11 miles (11.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is part of the historic parish of Merton i ...
, though to John's chagrin his father insisted that he register as 'John Major-Ball'. The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse, with his father's health deteriorating, and the business in severe financial difficulties. A recalled business loan which the family were unable to repay forced Tom Major to sell the house in Worcester Park in May 1955, with the family moving to a cramped, rented top-floor flat at 144
Coldharbour Lane, Brixton. With his parents distracted by their reduced circumstances, John Major's difficulties at Rutlish went unnoticed.
Acutely conscious of his straitened circumstances vis-à-vis the other pupils, Major was something of a loner and consistently under-performed except in sports, coming to see the school as "a penance to be endured". Major left school just before his 16th birthday in 1959 with just three
O-level
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
passes in History, English Language and English Literature, to his parents' disappointment.
Major's interest in politics stems from this period, and he avidly kept up with current affairs by reading newspapers on his long commutes from Brixton to Wimbledon. In 1956 Major met local MP
Marcus Lipton
Marcus Lipton CBE (29 October 190022 February 1978) was a British Labour Party politician.
Education
The son of Benjamin and Mary Lipton of Sunderland, Marcus Lipton was educated at Hudson Road Council School and Bede Grammar School in the ...
at a local church fair and was invited to watch his first debate in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, where
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
presented his only Budget as
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. Major has attributed his political ambitions to this event.
Early post-school career (1959–1979)
Major's first job was as a clerk in the London-based insurance brokerage firm
Price Forbes in 1959, though finding the job dull and offering no prospects he quit. Major began working with his brother Terry at the garden ornaments business; this had been sold in 1959, enabling the family to move to a larger residence at 80 Burton Road, Brixton. Major's father died on 17 March 1962. John left the ornaments business the following year to care for his ill mother, though when she got better he was unable to find a new job and was unemployed for much of the latter half of 1962, a situation he says was "degrading". After Major became prime minister, it was misreported that his failure to get a job as a bus conductor resulted from his failing to pass a maths test; he had in fact passed all of the necessary tests but had been passed over owing to his height. In the meantime he studied for a qualification in banking via
correspondence course
Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
. Eventually in December 1962 he found a job working at the
London Electricity Board
The London Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for the supply and distribution of electricity to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers in London prior to 1990. It also sold and made available for hire and ...
(LEB) in
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...
.
In 1959 Major had joined the
Young Conservatives in Brixton and soon became a highly active member, which helped increase his confidence following the failure of his school days. Encouraged by fellow Conservative Derek Stone, he started giving speeches on a
soap-box in
Brixton Market
Brixton Market comprises a street market in the centre of Brixton, south London, and the adjacent covered market areas in nearby arcades Reliance Arcade, Market Row and Granville Arcade (recently rebranded as 'Brixton Village').
The market sell ...
. According to his biographer
Anthony Seldon
Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British educator and contemporary historian. As an author, he is known in part for his political biographies of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Ther ...
, Major brought "youthful exuberance" to the Tories in Brixton, but was sometimes in trouble with the professional agent Marion Standing. Major stood as a Councillor in the
1964 Lambeth London Borough Council election for
Larkhall
Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France.
Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...
ward at the age of 21 in 1964, losing to Labour. He also assisted local Conservative candidates Kenneth Payne in the
1964 general election and
Piers Dixon
Pierson John Shirley Dixon (29 December 1928 – 24 March 2017), known as Piers Dixon, was a British Conservative Party politician who represented Truro between 1970 and 1974.
Early life
The son of diplomat and writer, Sir Pierson Dixon, he wa ...
in the
1966 general election. Another formative influence on Major in this period was Jean Kierans, a divorcée 13 years his elder with two children who lived opposite the family on Burton Road, who became his mentor and lover. Seldon writes "She ... made Major smarten his appearance, groomed him politically, and made him more ambitious and worldly." Major later moved in with Kierans when his family left Burton Road in 1965; their relationship lasted from 1963 to sometime after 1968.
![St Matthew's church, Brixton - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/St_Matthew%27s_church%2C_Brixton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1396586.jpg)
Major left the LEB and took up a post at
District Bank
The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank was formed in 1829 and it became one of the leading provincial joint stock banks; its name was shortened to District Bank in 1924. The Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1962 but kept ...
in May 1965, though he soon left this to join
Standard Bank
Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg.
History ...
the following year, largely because the latter offered the chance to work abroad. In December 1966 he was sent for a long secondment in
Jos, Nigeria
Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State.
During British ...
, which he enjoyed immensely, though he was put off by the casual racism of some of the ex-pat workers there. In May 1967 he was involved in a serious car crash in which he broke a leg and had to be flown home. Leaving hospital, he split his time between Jean Kierans' house and a small rented flat in
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
, working at Standard Bank's London office and resuming his banking diploma and activities with the Young Conservatives in his spare time.
Major stood again as Councillor in the
1968 Lambeth London Borough Council election, this time for
Ferndale ward. Though a Labour stronghold, the Conservatives received a huge boost following
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
's anti-immigration '
Rivers of Blood speech
The "Rivers of Blood" speech was made by British Member of Parliament (MP) Enoch Powell on 20 April 1968, to a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom. His speech strongly criticised mass immigration, especi ...
' in April 1968 and Major won, despite strongly disapproving of Powell's views. Major took a major interest in housing matters, with Lambeth notorious for overcrowding and poor-quality rented accommodation. In February 1970 Major became Chairman of the Housing Committee, being responsible for overseeing the building of several large
council estates
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
. He also promoted more openness at the council, initiating a series of public meetings with local residents. Major also undertook fact-finding trips to the Netherlands, Finland and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Despite the Lambeth housing team being well-regarded nationally, Major lost his seat in the
1971 Lambeth London Borough Council election.
Major met
Norma Johnson at a Conservative party event in Brixton in April 1970, and the two became engaged shortly thereafter, marrying at
St Matthew's Church in Brixton on 3 October 1970. John's mother died shortly before in September at the age of 65. John and Norma moved into a flat at Primrose Court,
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
, which John had bought in 1969, and had their first child, Elizabeth, in November 1971. In 1974 the couple moved to a larger residence at West Oak,
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
, and had a second child, James, in January 1975. Meanwhile, Major continued to work at Standard Bank (renamed
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...
from 1975), having completed his banking diploma in 1972. Major was promoted to head of the PR department in August 1976, and his duties necessitated the occasional foreign trip to East Asia.
Despite his setback at the 1971 Lambeth Council election, Major continued to nurse political ambitions, and with help from friends in the Conservative Party managed to get onto the Conservative Central Office's list of potential MP candidates. Major was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Labour-dominated
St Pancras North constituency, fighting both the
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...
and
October 1974 general elections, losing heavily both times to Labour's
Albert Stallard
Albert William "Jock" Stallard, Baron Stallard (5 November 1921 – 29 March 2008) was a British Labour politician. He served as a councillor in St Pancras and Camden, and then as a Member of Parliament (MP). He retired from the House of Comm ...
. Major then attempted to get selected as a candidate for a more promising seat, and despite numerous attempts was unsuccessful until December 1976. Growing increasingly frustrated, Major resolved to make one last attempt, applying for selection to the safe Conservative seat of
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
and finally he succeeded. Major was in some ways an odd choice, being a born-and-bred Londoner in a largely rural constituency still home to many landed families; however, he was seen as being the most likely to win-over the increasingly large numbers of upwardly mobile London over-spill families living in the area, and he was helped to familiarise himself with the area by local MP
David Renton
David Lockhart-Mure Renton, Baron Renton, (12 August 1908 – 24 May 2007) was a British politician who served for over 60 years in Parliament, 34 in the House of Commons and then 28 in the House of Lords.
Renton was Member of Parliament fo ...
. In 1977 the Major family purchased a house at De Vere Close in the village of
Hemingford Grey
Hemingford Grey is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hemingford Grey lies approximately east of Huntingdon. Hemingford Grey is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well a ...
. Major took on a less demanding job at Standard Chartered, and started working part-time in 1978 so that he could devote more time to his constituency duties.
Early parliamentary career (1979–1987)
Major won the Huntingdon seat by a large margin in the
1979 general election, which brought
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
to power.
F. W. S. Craig
Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...
(1984), ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1974–1983.'' Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. He made his
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
in the House of Commons on 13 June 1979, voicing his support for the government's budget. Major assiduously courted contacts at all levels of the party in this period, joining the informal 'Guy Fawkes club' of Conservative MPs and attending various
Committees
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
. He became Secretary of the Environment Committee and also assisted with work on the
Housing Act 1980
The Housing Act 1980 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave five million council house tenants in England and Wales the Right to Buy their house from their local authority. The Act came into force on 3 Oc ...
, which allowed
council house
A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...
tenants the
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...
their homes. At this time Major lived in De Vere Close, Hemingford Grey.
![Demo at RAF Molesworth- early 1980s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Demo_at_RAF_Molesworth-_early_1980s.jpg)
Major's first promotion came when he was appointed as a
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
in January 1981 to
Patrick Mayhew
Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, (11 September 1929 – 25 June 2016) was a British barrister and politician.
Early life
atrick’s father, George Mayhew, was a decorated army officer turned oil executive; his mother, S ...
and
Timothy Raison
Sir Timothy Hugh Francis Raison (3 November 1929 – 3 November 2011) was a British Conservative politician.
Early life and education
The son of publisher and editor Maxwell Raison, general manager of '' Picture Post'', and his wife Celia, Ra ...
, both
Ministers of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ot ...
at the
Home Office. Seeking to gain more exposure to foreign affairs, he joined several Labour Party MPs on a fact-finding trip to the Middle East in April 1982. The group met with
King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
and
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
of the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...
in Lebanon; in Israel they were briefly caught in the middle of a shooting incident between Israeli troops and a Palestinian rock-thrower.
Major later became an
assistant whip in January 1983, responsible for East Anglian MPs. During this period Major became also involved in the response to protests at
RAF Molesworth
Royal Air Force Molesworth or more simply RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England with a history dating back to 1917.
Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished ...
, which lay in his constituency; various peace groups were opposed to the siting of
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
s at the base and had established a permanent 'peace camp' there. Major addressed public meetings opposed to the protesters, organised by parish councillors, and also met
Bill Westwood
William John Westwood (28 December 1925 – 15 September 1999) was the 36th Anglican Bishop of Peterborough.
Life
Born at Saul, Gloucestershire, Westwood was educated at Grove Park Grammar School, Wrexham and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Aft ...
and separately
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served a ...
to discuss the issue. The protesters were evicted in February 1984.
Major comfortably won re-election to the now slightly enlarged seat of
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
at the
1983 general election. Shortly thereafter he and Norma moved to a larger house (Finings) in
Great Stukeley
Great Stukeley is a village north-west of Huntingdon. Great Stukeley is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. It lies on the old Roman road of Ermine Street.
The ...
; Major generally spent his weekends there, and weekdays at a rented flat in Durand Gardens,
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.
History
The na ...
. Major was invited to join the prestigious 'Blue Chip' group of rising stars in the Conservative Party, and he was promoted to Treasury Whip in October 1984. It was later revealed (in 2002) that during this period Major had conducted an affair with
Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie (' Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two year ...
, a Conservative
backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
and later
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Health and Social Security; the affair ended in 1988.
["Major and Currie had four-year affair"]
, ''BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...
'', 28 September 2002.["Currie interview in full"]
, ''BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...
'', 2 October 2002. Major narrowly avoided the
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
's
Brighton hotel bombing
A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against members of the British government took place on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. A long-delay time bomb was plante ...
in October 1984, having left the hotel only a few hours before the bomb went off. Also in this period, Major stood in for a Foreign Office minister on a trip to South America, visiting
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
In September 1985 he was made
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
for the
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services.
His ...
(DHSS), before being promoted to become
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
in the same department in September 1986. The large size of the DHSS granted Ministers a greater degree of responsibility than in other departments, with Major assisting with work on the Social Security Act 1986 and improving provision for disabled people. Major began to gain a bigger profile, giving his first speech at the Conservative Party Conference in October 1986. He first attracted major national media attention in January 1987 over
cold weather payment
Cold weather payments are paid by the United Kingdom government to recipients of certain state benefits in the event of particularly cold weather in the winter.
The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 govern the system u ...
s to the elderly, when Britain was in the depths of a severe winter. Amidst intense media criticism, Major discussed the issue with Margaret Thatcher and an increase in the payments was approved.
In Cabinet (1987–1990)
Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1987–1989)
Following the
1987 general election, in which Major retained his seat with an increased majority, he was promoted to the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The chief secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom. The office is the second most senior in the Treasury, after the chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961, to share the burden ...
, making him the first MP of the 1979 intake to reach the Cabinet. The then-Chancellor
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margaret ...
generally made significant decisions with little input from others, and Major was put in charge of agreeing departmental budgets with the
Secretaries of State. These discussions went well, and for the first time in several years budgets were agreed without recourse to the external adjudication of the so-called '
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...
'. Major successfully concluded a second round of such spending reviews in July 1988.
Whilst Chief Secretary Major took part in discussions over the future funding of the
NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
, against the background of an NHS strike in February 1988 over pay, resulting in the 'Working for Patients'
white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
and subsequent
National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990
The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c 19) introduced an internal market into the supply of healthcare in the United Kingdom, making the state an 'enabler' rather than a supplier of health and social care provision.Health and S ...
. Major also insisted in discussions with Thatcher that government assistance should be provided to support the sale of
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
to
Bombardier, an aerospace company and major employer in Northern Ireland which might otherwise have collapsed.
Foreign Secretary (July–October 1989)
In 1987–88 it became clear that Major had become a 'favourite' of Margaret Thatcher and he was widely tipped for further promotion. Nevertheless, Major's appointment to
Foreign Secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
in July 1989 came as a surprise due to his relative lack of experience in the Cabinet and unfamiliarity with international affairs. Major found the prospect daunting, and unsuccessfully attempted to convince Thatcher to allow him to stay on at the Treasury. There were also fears within the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...
(FCO) that Major would be Thatcher's 'hatchet-man', as her relations with the department under
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990.
Howe was Margaret Thatcher ...
had been poor and characterised by mutual distrust. Major accepted the job and began to settle into the department, living in an upstairs room at the FCO and devolving decision making where necessary, though he found the increased security burdensome and disliked the extensive ceremonial aspects of the role.
Amongst Major's first acts as Foreign Secretary was to cancel the sale of
Hawk aircraft to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, over concerns they would be used for internal repression. He represented Britain at the Paris Peace Conference to determine the future of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. Major also met with US secretary of state
James Baker
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...
, with whom he primarily discussed the issue of
Vietnamese boat people
Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...
, and with
Qian Qichen
Qian Qichen (; 5 January 1928 – 9 May 2017) was a Chinese diplomat and politician. He served as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member from 1992 to 2002, China's Foreign Minister from April 1988 to March 1998, and as Vice Premier f ...
,
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
of China, becoming the first senior Western politician to meet with a Chinese official since the
violent crackdown of pro-democracy protesters in
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
the previous month. Discussions focused primarily on the future of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, which Britain was scheduled to hand over to China in 1997.
Major spent most of a summer holiday that year in Spain conducting extensive background reading on foreign affairs and British foreign policy. Upon his return to the UK he and Thatcher met with French president
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
, in which the future direction of the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
was discussed. In September 1989 Major delivered a speech at the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
, in which he pledged to support Colombia's effort to tackle the drugs trade and reiterated Britain's opposition to the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime in South Africa. Major also met US president
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
in Washington, D.C. and
Domingo Cavallo
Domingo Felipe Cavallo (born July 21, 1946) is an Argentine economist and politician. Between 1991 and 1996 he was Economic Ministry of Argentina during Carlos Menem presidency. He is known for implementing the ''Convertibility plan'', which es ...
, the Argentine
foreign minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
, the first such meeting since the end of the
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
seven years earlier.
Major's last major summit as Foreign Secretary was the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...
(CHOGM) in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The meeting was dominated by the issue of
sanctions on South Africa, with Britain being the only country to oppose them, on the grounds that they would end up hurting poorer South Africans far more than the apartheid regime at which they were aimed. The summit ended acrimoniously, with Thatcher controversially and against established precedent issuing a second final communiqué stating Britain's opposition to sanctions, with the press seizing on the apparent disagreement on the matter between Major and Thatcher.
Chancellor of the Exchequer (1989–1990)
After just three months as Foreign Secretary Major was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 October 1989 after the sudden resignation of Nigel Lawson, who had fallen out with Thatcher over what he saw as her excessive reliance on the advice of her Economic Adviser
Alan Walters
Sir Alan Arthur Walters (17 June 1926 – 3 January 2009) was a British economist who was best known as the Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1981 to 1983 and (after his return from the United States) again for fi ...
.
The appointment meant that, despite only being in the Cabinet for a little over two years, Major had gone from the most junior position in the Cabinet to holding two of the
Great Offices of State
The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the UK government. They are the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary or, alternatively, three of those offices excluding the Prime Minister.
Current ...
. Major made tackling inflation a priority, stating that tough measures were needed to bring it down and that "if it isn't hurting, it isn't working." He delivered his first
Autumn Statement
The Spring Statement of the British Government, also known as the "mini-budget", is one of the two statements HM Treasury makes each year to Parliament upon publication of economic forecasts, the second taking place the previous year as the Autum ...
on 15 November, announcing a boost in spending (mainly for the NHS) and with interest rates to be kept as they were.
As Chancellor, Major presented only
one Budget, the first to be televised live, on 20 March 1990. He publicised it as a 'budget for savers', with the creations of the
Tax-exempt special savings account
In the UK, the tax-exempt special savings account (TESSA) was one of a number of tax-free savings accounts. The TESSA was announced by John Major in his only budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1990 (the "budget for savings") and at first ...
(TESSA), arguing that measures were required to address the marked fall in the household
savings ratio that had been apparent during the previous
financial year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many j ...
. Major also abolished the composite rate tax and
stamp duty
Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). A physical revenu ...
on share trades, whilst increasing taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol. Tax cuts were also made which benefited football associations, the aim being to increase funding on safety measures following the
Bradford City stadium fire
The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The stadium was k ...
and
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
. Extra funding was also made available to Scotland in order to limit the impact of the
Community Charge
The Community Charge, commonly known as the poll tax, was a system of taxation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in replacement of domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. It pr ...
(widely dubbed the 'Poll Tax'), which had been introduced there that year.
The European Community's push for full
Economic and Monetary Union
An economic and monetary union (EMU) is a type of trade bloc that features a combination of a common market, customs union, and monetary union. Established via a trade pact, an EMU constitutes the sixth of seven stages in the process of economic ...
(EMU) was another important factor in Major's time as Chancellor; in June 1990 he proposed that instead of a single European currency there could instead be a 'hard
ECU', which different national currencies could compete against and, if the ECU was successful, could lead to a single currency. The move was seen as a wrecking tactic by France and Germany, especially when the increasingly
Euro-sceptic Thatcher announced her outright opposition to EMU, and the idea was abandoned. More successfully, Major managed to get the new
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...
(EBRD) located in London.
By early 1990 Major had become convinced that the best way to combat inflation and restore macroeconomic stability would be if the British pound were to join the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as p ...
(ERM), and he and
Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995.
A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...
(Major's successor as Foreign Secretary) set about trying to convince a reluctant Thatcher to join it. The move was supported by the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
, the Treasury, most of the Cabinet, the Labour Party, several major business associations and much of the press. With the '
Lawson Boom
The Lawson Boom was the macroeconomic conditions prevailing in the United Kingdom at the end of the 1980s, which became associated with the policies of Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson.
The term ''Lawson Boom'' was ...
' showing signs of running out of steam, exacerbated by rising oil prices following Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
in August 1990, there were fears of a potential recession and pressure to cut interest rates. Thatcher finally agreed on 4 October, and Britain's entry into the ERM at a rate of
DM 2.95 to £1.00 (with an agreed 6% floating 'band' either side) was announced the following day. An interest rate cut of 1% (from 15%) was also announced on the same day.
The rest of Major's Chancellorship prior to the leadership contest was largely uneventful; he considered granting the Bank of England operational independence over monetary policy, with the ability to set interest rates, but decided against it. He also agreed a restructuring and write-off of some
Third World debt
The debt of developing countries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developing countries.
There have been several historical episodes of governments of developing countries borrowing in quantities beyond their abilit ...
at a Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
in September 1990.
Conservative Party leadership contest
Opposition within the Conservative Party to Margaret Thatcher had been brewing for some time, focusing on what was seen as her brusque, imperious style and the
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
, which was facing serious opposition across the country. In December 1989, she had survived a
leadership bid by
Anthony Meyer; though she won easily, 60 MPs had not voted for her, and it was rumoured that many more had had to be strong-armed into supporting her.
By early 1990, it was clear that bills for many under the new poll tax regime would be higher than anticipated, and opposition to the Tax grew, with a non-payment campaign gaining much support and an anti-poll tax demonstration in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
in March ending in
rioting
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
.
The Conservatives lost the
1990 Mid Staffordshire by-election
The Mid Staffordshire constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament held a by-election on 22 March 1990. The result was the election of Labour candidate Sylvia Heal to succeed the previous Conservative Member of Parliament John Heddle, who had pr ...
to Labour and the
1990 Eastbourne by-election
The 1990 Eastbourne by-election was a by-election held on 18 October 1990 for the House of Commons constituency of Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Background
The by-election was caused by the death of the town's Conservative Party Member of Parliame ...
to the
Liberal Democrats, both Conservative seats, causing many Conservative MPs to worry about their prospects at the upcoming general election, due in 1991 or 1992.
Thatcher's staunch anti-European stance also alienated pro-Europe Conservatives. On 1 November, the pro-European deputy prime minister Geoffrey Howe resigned, issuing a fiercely critical broadside against Thatcher in the House of Commons on 13 November.
The day after Howe's speech
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served a ...
, Thatcher's former
Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
who had acrimoniously resigned in 1986 over the
Westland affair
The Westland affair in 1985–86 was an episode in which Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and her Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Heseltine, went public over a cabinet dispute with questions raised about whether ...
, challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Both John Major and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd supported Thatcher in the first round. Major was at home in Huntingdon recovering from a pre-arranged wisdom tooth operation during the first leadership ballot, which Thatcher won but not by the required threshold, necessitating a second round. Following discussions with her cabinet, in which many stated that though supporting her they doubted she could win, Thatcher withdrew from the contest and announced that she would resign as prime minister once a new leader had been elected. Major subsequently announced on 22 November that he would stand in the second ballot, with Thatcher's backing. Major's platform was one of moderation on Europe, a review of the poll tax, and the desire to build a "classless society".
Unlike in the first ballot, a candidate only required a simple majority of Conservative MPs to win, in this case 187 of 372 MPs. The ballot was held on the afternoon of 27 November; although Major obtained 185 votes, 2 votes short of an overall majority, he polled far enough ahead of both Hurd and Heseltine to secure their immediate withdrawal. With no remaining challengers, Major was formally named Leader of the Conservative Party that evening and was duly appointed prime minister the following day. At 47, he was the youngest prime minister since
Lord Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...
some 95 years earlier.
Prime Minister (1990–1997)
First Major ministry (1990–1992)
Major became
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
on 28 November 1990 when he accepted
the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
's invitation to form a government, succeeding Margaret Thatcher. He inherited a
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
from Margaret Thatcher who had been the prime minister for the previous eleven years. The Conservatives' popularity was low, with some
polling
Poll, polled, or polling may refer to:
Figurative head counts
* Poll, a formal election
** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts
** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions
** Polling places o ...
showing
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
's
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...
with a 23% lead over the Tories in April 1990 following the introduction of the Community Charge (poll tax).
By the time of Major's appointment, Labour's lead had shrunk to 14%.
However, by 1991, the Conservatives had narrowly retaken Labour in the polls.
Major's first ministry was dominated by the
early 1990s recession
The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incu ...
which was believed to be caused by high interest rates, falling house prices and an overvalued exchange rate.
The high interest rates led to more saving, less spending and less investment in the UK's sectors.
Falling house prices stalled construction in the housing sector. Economic growth wasn't re-established until early 1993. By December 1991, unemployment was at 2.5 million (compared to 1.6 million 18 months earlier). Additionally, inflation was in double digits and interest rates reached 15%. However, opinion polling for Major's government remained stable during this period.
Second Major ministry (1992–1997)
![President Clinton and Prime Minister John Major of the United Kingdom deliver press statements](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/President_Clinton_and_Prime_Minister_John_Major_of_the_United_Kingdom_deliver_press_statements.jpg)
On 9 April
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, Major called an election. To the surprise of many pollsters, the Conservatives won a majority, with 336 seats, and earning 41.9% of the vote. With a high turnout, the Conservatives earned over 14 million votes which remains a record in any UK general election. This was the Conservatives' fourth consecutive election victory. Neil Kinnock was replaced by
John Smith as Labour leader in 1992.
On 16 September 1992, the
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in ...
had invested heavily in trying to keep it there, adjusting interest rates four times in one day. This event would later be called
Black Wednesday
Black Wednesday (or the 1992 Sterling crisis) occurred on 16 September 1992 when the UK Government was forced to withdraw sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after a failed attempt to keep its exchange rate above the ...
. Despite the recession finally ending in 1993, the Conservatives' popularity didn't improve. Major's second ministry was also defined by conflicts within the Conservative Party regarding
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
after the government's defeat on the
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
.
On 12 May 1994, the
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
John Smith died from a heart attack and was replaced by
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
who continued Labour's modernisation under the slogan of "
New Labour
New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...
". Some polling at the end of 1994 and the start of 1995 had Labour with a vote share of over 60%. The Tories remained divided over this era and with an attempt to silence his critics, Major resigned as Party leader. In the
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
, Major comfortably beat
John Redwood
Sir John Alan Redwood (born 15 June 1951) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham in Berkshire since 1987. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Secretary of State for Wales in the Major government ...
in June 1995. Following a string of by-election defeats, the Conservatives' majority of 21 had been eroded by 13 December 1996.
In the
1997 election, Labour won a 179-seat majority, ending their eighteen years in opposition. This was the worst general election result of the 20th century for the Conservatives, seeing the loss of all the party's seats in Wales and Scotland. Major's term ended with his resignation on 2 May 1997. While serving as prime minister, Major also served as the
first lord of the Treasury
The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...
and
minister for the Civil Service
In the Government of the United Kingdom, the minister for the Civil Service is responsible for regulations regarding His Majesty's Civil Service, the role of which is to assist the governments of the United Kingdom in formulating and implementin ...
. He was succeeded by
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
following the 1997 general election. The Conservatives would not win another election until
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
Final years in Parliament (1997–2001)
Speculation over Major's leadership had continued since his re-election in 1995, and intensified as it became increasingly likely that the Conservatives would suffer a landslide defeat in the upcoming general election. During this period,
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...
had frequently been touted as the favourite to replace Major, but
lost his seat in the election, thus eliminating him from the running. Although many Conservative MPs wanted Major to resign as leader immediately because of the 1997 election loss, there was a movement among the grassroots of the party, encouraged by his political allies, to have him stay on as leader until the autumn.
Lord Cranborne, his chief of staff during the election, and the chief whip,
Alastair Goodlad
Alastair Robertson Goodlad, Baron Goodlad (born 4 July 1943) is a British politician who served as Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 1995 to 1997 and British High Commissioner to Australia from 2000 to 2005. A member of the Conservative ...
, both pleaded with him to stay on: they argued that remaining as leader for a few months would give the party time to come to terms with the scale of defeat before electing a successor. Major refused, saying: "It would be terrible, because I would be presiding with no authority over a number of candidates fighting for the crown. It would merely prolong the agony."
Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
to replace him was underway. He formed
a temporary Shadow Cabinet, but with seven of his Cabinet ministers having lost their seats at the election, and with few senior MPs left to replace them, several MPs had to hold multiple briefs.
Major himself served as
shadow foreign secretary
In UK politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving as ...
(having served as foreign secretary for three months in 1989) and
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Defence and the department, the Ministry of Defence. The post is currently held by John Healey.
Shadow ...
, and the office of
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland and his/her department, the Scotland Office. The incumbent holder of the office is Ian Murray ...
was left vacant until after the
2001 general election as the party no longer had any Scottish MPs.
Major's resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect on 19 June 1997 after the election of
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.
Major's
Resignation Honours
The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours in the United Kingdom are Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, honours granted at the behest of an outgoing Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister following their resignation ...
were announced on 1 August 1997. He remained active in Parliament, regularly attending and contributing in debates. He stood down from the House of Commons at the 2001 general election, having announced his retirement from Parliament on 10 March 2000.
Jonathan Djanogly
Jonathan Simon Djanogly (born 3 June 1965) is an English politician, solicitor and Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon since 2001. Djanogly has been Trade and Industry Spokesman shadowing the Department for Business, En ...
took over as MP for Huntingdon, retaining the seat for the Conservatives at the 2001 election.
Like some post-war former prime ministers (such as
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
), Major turned down a
peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks.
Peerages include:
Australia
* Australian peers
Belgium
* Belgi ...
when he retired from the House of Commons in 2001. He said that he wanted a "firebreak from politics" and to focus on writing and his business, sporting and charity work.
Post-parliamentary life (2001–present)
![John Major at the Hist Inaugural](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/John_Major_at_the_Hist_Inaugural.jpg)
Since leaving office, Major has tended to maintain a low profile in the media, occasionally commentating on political developments in the role of an elder statesman. In 1999 he published his autobiography, covering his early life and time in office, which was generally well received. Major went on to write a book about the history of cricket in 2007 (''
More Than a Game: The Story of Cricket's Early Years'' and a book about music hall (''My Old Man: A Personal History of Music Hall'' in 2012.
Major has further indulged his love of cricket as President of
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South London ...
from 2000 to 2001 (and Honorary Life Vice-president since 2002). In March 2001 he gave the tribute to cricketer
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...
at his memorial service in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. In 2005 he was elected to the Committee of the
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
, historically the governing body of the sport, and still guardian of the laws of the game. Major left the committee in 2011, citing concerns with the planned redevelopment of
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
.
John Major has also been actively engaged in charity work, being President of
Asthma UK
Asthma UK is a British charity based in London.
History
The Asthma Research Council was started in 1927. At that time the annual income was between £1,000 and £4,000 a year. One of the first donations was used to pay for special asthma clinics ...
,
and a Patron of the Prostate Cancer Charity,
Sightsavers UK,
Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships is an international charity that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world, providing humanitarian aid like free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, ...
, Support for Africa 2000
and Afghan Heroes.
In February 2012, Major became chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust,
which was formed as part of the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
and is intended to support charitable organisations and projects across the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
, focusing on areas such as cures for diseases and the promotion of culture and education.
Major was a Patron of the sight loss and learning disability charity
SeeAbility
SeeAbility (formerly School for the Indigent Blind and Royal School for the Blind) is a UK charity that provides support and campaigns for better eye care for people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. In 2017 it reported that 236 ...
from 2006 to 2012 and has been a vice-president since 2013.
Major has also pursued a variety of business interests, taking up appointments as Senior Adviser to
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
,
chairman of the board of Senior Advisers at
Global Infrastructure Partners
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is an infrastructure investment fund making equity and selected debt investments. GIP's main headquarters are located in New York City and its equity investments are based on infrastructure assets in the energ ...
,
Global Adviser to
AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm.
AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list.
The company's official name from 1990 t ...
,
Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the
National Bank of Kuwait
The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) was founded in 1952. It is the largest financial institution in Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It ...
,
and Chairman of the European Advisory Council of the
Emerson Electric Company
Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri. The ''Fortune'' 500 company manufactures products and provides engineering services for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets. .
He was a member of
the Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...
's European Advisory Board from 1998 and was appointed Chairman of Carlyle Europe in May 2001.
He stood down from the Group circa 2004–05.
Major was also a director at the bus manufacturers the Mayflower Corporation from 2000 to 2003, which was liquidated in 2004 due to funding issues.
Following the death of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
in 1997, Major was appointed a special guardian to Princes
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and
Harry
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
, with responsibility for legal and administrative matters. As a result of this, Major was the only current or former prime minister out of the five then still alive invited to the
wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...
in May 2018. Major has also attended the funerals of notable political figures, such as
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
in December 2013, former US first lady
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...
at
St. Martin's Episcopal Church in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas on 21 April 2018 and the
state funeral of George H. W. Bush
On November 30, 2018, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, died from vascular Parkinson's disease at his home in Houston, Texas. Bush was the first former U.S. president to die in nearly 12 years since Gerald Ford in late ...
on 5 December 2018.
As a former Prime Minister, Major with
Lady Major had a place of honour at the
state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...
on 19 September 2022.
Revelation of affair
In 1993, Major sued two magazines, ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
and Society'' and ''
Scallywag'', as well as their distributors, for reporting rumours of an affair with Clare Latimer, a Downing Street caterer, even though at least one of the magazines had said that the rumours were false. The allegations of an affair with Latimer were indeed proven false. However, an affair with a different woman, Currie, came out a decade later, and both of these publications considered legal action to recover their costs when that happened.
In September 2002, it was revealed that, prior to his elevation to the Cabinet, Major had had a four-year-long
extramarital affair
An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...
with
Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie (' Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two year ...
, from 1984 to 1988. Commentators were quick to refer to Major's previous '
Back to Basics' platform to throw charges of hypocrisy at him. An obituary of
Tony Newton in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' claimed that if Newton had not kept the affair a closely guarded secret, "it is highly unlikely that Major would have become prime minister". In a press statement, Major said that he was "ashamed" by the affair and that his wife had forgiven him. In response, Currie said "he wasn't ashamed of it at the time and he wanted it to continue."
Political engagement
![John Major Chatham House Prize 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/John_Major_Chatham_House_Prize_2010.jpg)
Major has become an active after-dinner speaker, earning over £25,000 per engagement for his "insights and his own opinions" on politics and other matters according to his agency. Major is also actively involved in various
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
s: he is the Chair of the Panel of Senior Advisers at
Chatham House
Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...
(having previously served as a president of Chatham House),
a member of the International Advisory Boards of the
Peres Center for Peace
The Peres Center for Peace, located in Jaffa, Israel, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel Shimon Peres. Its aim is to further Pere ...
in Israel,
the
InterAction Council
The InterAction Council is an independent non-profit organization that brings together former world leaders to mobilize their energy, experience and international contacts in an effort to develop recommendations and foster co-operation and positive ...
,
the
Baker Institute in Houston,
and a Patron of the Atlantic Partnership.
Major was also a Director with the
Ditchley Foundation
The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. It is based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. It was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by philan ...
from 2000 to 2009,
and a President of the influential centre-right think tank the
Bow Group
The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with i ...
from 2012 to 2014.
In February 2005, it was reported that Major and Norman Lamont delayed the release of papers on Black Wednesday under the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
. Major denied doing so, saying that he had not heard of the request until the scheduled release date and had merely asked to look at the papers himself. He told
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
that he and Lamont had been the victims of "whispering voices" to the press. He later publicly approved the release of the papers.
In December 2006, Major led calls for an independent inquiry into Tony Blair's decision to
invade Iraq, following revelations made by
Carne Ross
Carne Ross (born 1966) is the founder and executive director of Independent Diplomat, a diplomatic advisory group.
Career
After graduating from Exeter University, Ross joined the British Foreign Office and worked at the UK embassy in Bonn, Ger ...
, a former British senior diplomat, that contradicted Blair's case for the invasion.
He was touted as a possible Conservative candidate for the
Mayor of London elections in 2008, but turned down an offer from the Leader of the Conservatives at the time,
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
. A spokesperson for Major said "his political career is behind him".
Following the 2010 general election, Major announced his support for the
Cameron–Clegg coalition
The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the gene ...
, and stated that he hoped for a "
liberal conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...
" alliance beyond 2015, criticising Labour under
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
for playing "party games" rather than serving the national interest. Nevertheless, in 2013 Major expressed his concern at the seeming decline in
social mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...
in Britain: "In every single sphere of British influence, the upper echelons of power in 2013 are held overwhelmingly by the privately educated or the affluent middle class. To me, from my background, I find that truly shocking."
During the
2014 Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...
Major strongly encouraged a "No" vote, stating that a vote for independence would be damaging both for Scotland and the rest of the UK. This was similar to his stance on devolution in Scotland before referenda were held on the subject both there and in Wales in 1997.
Major was a vocal supporter for the Remain campaign in the
2016 referendum on British membership of the European Union. Major supported a
second referendum over
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, stating that the leave campaign put out a "fantasy case" during the referendum campaign, adding that to describe a second vote as undemocratic was "a rather curious proposition" and that he could see no "intellectual argument" against redoing the ballot. Major feared Brexit would make the UK poorer and could endanger the peace settlement in Northern Ireland.
On 30 August 2019, it was announced that Major intended to join
a court case by Gina Miller against the
proroguing of Parliament by the prime minister,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. In the
2019 general election Major urged voters to vote tactically against candidates supporting Boris Johnson when those candidates wanted a hard Brexit. Major said Brexit is, "the worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime. It will affect nearly every single aspect of our lives for many decades to come. It will make our country poorer and weaker. It will hurt most those who have least. Never have the stakes been higher, especially for the young. Brexit may even break up our historic United Kingdom." In early 2020, after the UK formally left the EU with
an initial deal, Major expressed his concerns about a future trading deal with the EU being "flimsy".
In February 2022, Major made a speech at the
Institute for Government
The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initially ...
think-tank in London, in which he criticised Boris Johnson over the
Partygate
Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gather ...
scandal, suggesting that he ought to resign, and also the proposed policy for those seeking asylum which he called "un-British". In July 2022, immediately following Boris Johnson's announcement he intended to resign as prime minister but would stay until a successor was chosen, Major called for Johnson's immediate replacement and removal "for the overall wellbeing of the country."
Assessment and legacy
![Sir John Major - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Sir_John_Major_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1367859.jpg)
Major's mild-mannered style and moderate political stance contrasted with that of Thatcher, and made him theoretically well-placed to act as a conciliatory and relatively uncontroversial leader of his party. In spite of this, conflict raged within the parliamentary Conservative Party, particularly over the extent of Britain's integration with the European Union. Major never succeeded in reconciling the "Euro-rebels" among his MPs to his European policy, who although relatively few in number, wielded great influence because of his small majority and their wider following among Conservative activists and voters. Episodes such as the Maastricht Rebellion, led by
Bill Cash
Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. ...
and Margaret Thatcher, inflicted serious political damage on him and his government. The additional bitterness on the right wing of the Conservative Party at the manner in which Margaret Thatcher had been deposed did not make Major's task any easier, with many viewing him as a weak and vacillating leader. Ongoing 'sleaze'-related scandals among leading Conservative MPs also did Major and his government no favours, decreasing support for the party amongst the public.
His task became even more difficult after the election of the modernist and highly media-savvy Tony Blair as
Labour leader
The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again.
19th century
The origins of the ...
in July 1994, who mercilessly exploited Conservative divisions whilst shifting Labour to the centre, thus making it much more electable. Whilst few observers doubted that Major was an honest and decent man, or that he made sincere and sometimes successful attempts to improve life in Britain and to unite his deeply divided party, he was also perceived as a weak and ineffectual figure, and his approval ratings for most of his time in office were low, particularly after "Black Wednesday" in September 1992 which destroyed the Conservative's reputation for effective economic management.
Major defended his government in his memoirs, focusing particularly on how under him the British economy had recovered from the recession of 1990–1993. He wrote that "during my premiership interest rates fell from 14% to 6%; unemployment was at 1.75 million when I took office, and at 1.6 million and falling upon my departure; and the government's annual borrowing rose from £0.5 billion to nearly £46 billion at its peak before falling to £1 billion". Major's Chancellor
Ken Clarke
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...
stated in 2016 that Major's reputation looked better as time went by, in contrast to that of Tony Blair's which appeared to be in decline.
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...
, the
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the head and highest-ranking member of the party. Liberal Democrat members of Parliament also elect a deputy leader of ...
during Major's term of office, was more sympathetic, writing in 2017 that Major was "one of the most honest, brave and sincere men to ever be Prime Minister" and that his time in office compares favourably with that of his successor Tony Blair.
Writing shortly after he left office, the historian and journalist
Paul Johnson wrote that Major was "a hopeless leader" who "should never have been Prime Minister". The sentiments echoed that of much of the press at the time, which was generally hostile to Major, especially after Black Wednesday. The journalist
Peter Oborne
Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'', ''Th ...
was one such figure, though writing in 2017 he stated that he now regrets his negative reporting, stating that he himself and the press in general were "grossly unfair to Major" and that this was motivated at least in part by snobbery at Major's humble upbringing. In 2012 Oborne had written that Major's government looks ever more successful as time goes by. Oborne singled out Major's achievements in the Northern Irish peace process, boosting the economy, keeping Britain out of the Eurozone, and his reforms of public services as being worthy of praise. Others remain unconvinced however and, writing in 2011, the BBC's Home editor
Mark Easton
Mark Richard Erskine Easton (born 12 March 1959) is the Home Editor for BBC News broadcasting on national television and radio news. His writing and presenting credits include ''The Happiness Formula'' on BBC Two in 2006 and ''The Crime of Our ...
judged that "Majorism" had made little lasting impact.
In academic circles Major's legacy has generally been better received. Mark Stuart, writing in 2017, stated that Major is "the best ex-Prime Minister we have ever had", praising him for initiating the Northern Ireland peace process, peacefully handing Hong Kong back to China, creating the
National Lottery and leaving a sound economy to Labour in 1997.
Dennis Kavanagh
Dennis Kavanagh (born 27 March 1941) is a British political analyst and since 1996 has been Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool, and now Emeritus Professor. He has written extensively on post-war British politics. With David Butl ...
likewise states that Major did relatively well considering the unbridgeable divides that existed in the Conservative Party in the 1990s, chiefly over Europe, whilst also delivering economic growth, a more user-focused public sector and the basis of peace settlement in Northern Ireland.
He also notes that Major's unexpected 1992 election victory effectively sealed in the Thatcher-era reforms and forced the Labour Party to ditch most of its more socialist-tinged policies, thereby permanently shifting the British political landscape to the centre ground.
Anthony Seldon largely agrees with this assessment, adding that Major's deep dislike of discrimination contributed to the continuing decline in racism and
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
in British society, and that his proactive foreign policy stance maintained Britain's influence in the world at a time of profound global change. He also notes that Major faced a deeply unfavourable set of circumstances: most of the obvious and pressing Conservative reforms (e.g. reining in the power of trade unions and privatising failing industries) had already been completed under Thatcher, the swift nature of his rise to power left him little time to formulate policy positions and upon becoming prime minister he was immediately thrust into having to deal with the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
and a major recession. Furthermore, the narrow majority achieved after the 1992 election left him exposed to internal Conservative rebellions, which only worsened as time went by, abetted by a hostile press, as it became clear the Conservatives would lose the next election. Seldon concludes that "Major was neither non-entity nor failure. His will be judged an important if unruly premiership at the end of the Conservative century, completing some parts of an earlier agenda while in some key respects helping to define a Conservatism for the 21st century." Seldon reiterated these views in his contribution to the 2017 volume ''John Major: An Unsuccessful Prime Minister?''
Political historian Robert Taylor, in his 2006
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
of Major, concurs with many of these points, summing up that "In the perspective provided by the years of New Labour government since May 1997, John Major's record as Prime Minister looked much better than his many critics liked to suggest... Britain's most extraordinary Conservative Prime Minister bequeathed an important legacy to this party and his country to build on. One day both yet may come to recognise and appreciate it." Noted political historian
Dick Leonard
Richard Lawrence Leonard (12 December 1930 – 24 June 2021) was a British writer, journalist and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Romford (UK Parliament ...
, however, writing in 2004, was more harsh in his assessment, concluding that Major was "A man of evident decent instincts, but limited abilities: as Prime Minister he pushed these abilities to the limit. It was not enough."
Representation in the media
![John Major (6357734833)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/John_Major_%286357734833%29.jpg)
During his leadership of the Conservative Party, Major was portrayed as honest ("Honest John") but unable to exert effective control over his fractious party. However, his polite, easy-going manner was initially well received by both his supporters and his critics. Major's appearance was noted for its greyness, his prodigious
philtrum
The philtrum ( la, philtrum from Ancient Greek ''phíltron,'' lit. "love charm"), or medial cleft, is a vertical indentation in the middle area of the upper lip, common to therian mammals, extending in humans from the nasal septum to the tubercl ...
, and large glasses, all of which were exaggerated in caricatures. For example, in ''
Spitting Image
''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...
'', Major's puppet was changed from a circus performer to that of a literally grey man who ate dinner with his wife in silence, occasionally saying "nice peas, dear", while at the same time nursing an unrequited crush on his colleague
Virginia Bottomley
Virginia Hilda Brunette Maxwell Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, (née Garnett, born 12 March 1948) is a British Conservative Party politician, and headhunter. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1984 ...
– an invention, but an ironic one in view of his affair with Edwina Currie, which was not then a matter of public knowledge. By the end of his premiership his puppet would often be shown observing the latest fiasco and ineffectually murmuring "oh dear". Long-standing Conservative MP Enoch Powell, when asked about Major, stated "I simply find myself asking – does he really exist?", whereas on the left Labour's
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...
dismissed him as a "piece of lettuce that passes for prime minister" and Labour MP
Tony Banks said of Major in 1994 that, "He was a fairly competent Chairman of Housing on Lambeth Council. Every time he gets up now I keep thinking, 'What on earth is Councillor Major doing?' I can't believe he's here and sometimes I think he can't either."
The media (particularly ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' cartoonist
Steve Bell) used the allegation by Alastair Campbell that he had observed Major tucking his shirt into his underpants to
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
him wearing his pants outside his trousers, as a pale grey echo of both
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
and
Supermac
The SuperMac was a line of Macintosh clones produced by UMAX Technologies from 1996 to 1998. Their models included the SuperMac S900/S910, J700, C500 and C500e/i/LT, C600e/v/LT/x and Aegis 200. The C500 was marketed as the Apus 2000 in Europe. Th ...
, a parody of Harold Macmillan. Bell also used the humorous possibilities of the
Cones Hotline
The Cones Hotline was a telephone hotline introduced by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major in June 1992 to allow members of the public to enquire about roadworks on the country's roads and report areas where traffic cones had be ...
, a means for the public to inform the authorities of potentially unnecessary
traffic cone
Traffic cones, also called pylons, witches' hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, or just cones, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpaths to temporarily redirect traf ...
s, which was part of the
Citizen's Charter
The Citizen's Charter was a British political initiative launched by the then prime minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership.
Aims
It aimed to improve public services in the UK by:
*Making administration acco ...
project established by John Major. Major was also satirised by Patrick Wright with his book ''101 Uses for a John Major'' (based on a comic book of some 10 years earlier called ''
101 Uses for a Dead Cat'', in which Major was illustrated serving a number of bizarre purposes, such as a train-spotter's anorak or as a flag-pole; Wright published a second collection of '101 Uses', as well as a parodic cartoon biography of Major entitled ''Not Inconsiderable: Being the Life and Times of John Major''.
''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
'' parodied
Sue Townsend
Susan Lillian Townsend, FRSL (née Johnstone, 2 April 194610 April 2014), was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole.
After writing ...
's ''The Secret Diary of
Adrian Mole
Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of books by English author Sue Townsend. The character first appeared (as "Nigel") as part of a comic diary featured in a short-lived arts magazine (called simply ''magazine'') pub ...
, age 13¾'' to run a regular column ''
The Secret Diary of John Major, age 47¾'', in which Major was portrayed as naïve and childish, keeping lists of his enemies in a Rymans Notebook called his "Bastards Book", and featuring "my wife Norman" and "
Mr Dr Mawhinney" as
recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...
s. The magazine still runs one-off specials of this diary (with the age updated) on occasions when Major is in the news, such as on the breaking of the Edwina Currie story or the publication of his autobiography.
The impressionist comedian
Rory Bremner
Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...
often mocked John Major, for example depicting him as 'John 90', a play on 1960s puppet show ''
Joe 90
''Joe 90'' is a 1968–1969 British science-fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of nine-year-old schoolboy Joe McC ...
''; his impersonation was so accurate that he managed to fool the MP
Richard Body
Sir Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body (18 May 1927 – 26 February 2018) was an English politician. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Billericay from 1955 to 1959, for Holland with Boston from 1966 to 1997, and for Boston and Skegn ...
that he was really speaking to Major in a
prank phone call
A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.
Recordings of prank pho ...
. The incident prompted
Cabinet Secretary Robin Butler
Frederick Edward Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, (born 3 January 1938) is a retired British civil servant, now sitting in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
Early life and family
Butler was born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, ...
to warn Channel 4 head
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 ( ...
against any further calls for fear that state secrets could be inadvertently leaked.
Major was often mocked for his nostalgic evocation of what sounded like the lost Britain of the 1950s ; for example, his famous speech stating that "Fifty years from now Britain will still be the country of long shadows on county grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and pools fillers and – as George Orwell said – 'old maids bicycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist'." Major complained in his memoirs that these words (which drew upon a passage in
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's essay ''
The Lion and the Unicorn
The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combinati ...
'' had been misrepresented as being more naive and romantic than he had intended, and indeed his memoirs were dismissive of the common conservative viewpoint that there was once a time of moral rectitude; Major wrote that "life has never been as simple as that". Throughout his time in office Major was often acutely sensitive to criticism of him in the press; his biographer Anthony Seldon posits this to an inner vulnerability stemming from his difficult childhood and adolescence. After leaving office, Major stated that "Perhaps up to a point I was too sensitive about some of the things in the press, I’m happy to concede that. But, the politicians who are said to have hides like rhinos and be utterly impervious to criticism, if they’re not extinct, they are very rare and I freely confess I wasn't amongst them."
Major has been depicted on screen by
Keith Drinkel
Keith Drinkel (born 14 November 1944) is an English actor.
Drinkel was born in York, educated at St Michael's College, Leeds, and is now based in Brighton.
His notable appearances in film and television include ''A Family at War'' (1970), ' ...
in ''
Thatcher: The Final Days'' (1991),
Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor.
Life and career
Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''.
He made his ...
in ''
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
'' (2009),
Robin Kermode
Robin William Kermode (born 9 July 1958), is an English actor, author and communications coach. He is best known for his role in ''Never the Twain'', ''Ffizz'', ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'', ''The Iron Lady (film), Iron Lady'', ''Wilde (film), ...
in ''
The Iron Lady'' (2011),
Marc Ozall in the TV series ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'',
Gordon Griffin
Gordon Cuthbert Griffin MBE (born 19 December 1942) is an English actor, audiobook reader, casting director, dialogue coach, singer, composer and lyricist.
Early life
Griffin comes from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, though he was actually born at Gilsl ...
in ''Westminster on Trial'' and Roger Sansom in ''
On the Record''. Footage of Major's 1992 election win is used in
Patrick Keiller
Patrick Keiller (born 1950) is a British film-maker, writer and lecturer.
Biography
Keiller was born in 1950, in Blackpool and studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. In 1979 he joined the Royal College of Art ...
's 1994 documentary film ''London''. Major was also one of the prime ministers portrayed in the 2013 stage play ''
The Audience''. Less flatteringly, Major was the subject of the song ''John Major – Fuck You'' by Scottish punk band
Oi Polloi.
Major was portrayed by
Jonny Lee Miller
Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film ''Trainspotting'' (1996) and as Dade Murphy in ...
in the
fifth season of
''The Crown'' in 2022. Major called the series a "barrel-load of nonsense" for a fictitious storyline in which the then
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
lobbies Major in 1991, attempting to oust Queen Elizabeth II from power.
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
defended the series as a "fictional dramatisation".
Personal life
![Major00](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Major00.jpg)
Major married Norma Johnson (now
Dame Norma Major) on 3 October 1970 at St Matthew's Church, Brixton. She was a teacher and a member of the Young Conservatives. They met on
polling day
Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...
for the
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
elections in London, and became engaged after only ten days. They have two children: a daughter, Elizabeth (born November 1971) and a son, James (b. January 1975). They continue to live at their constituency home, Finings, in
Great Stukeley, Huntingdonshire.
They also own a flat in London and a
holiday home
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...
on the
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
coast at
Weybourne, which they have in the past invited ex-soldiers to use for free as part of the Afghan Heroes charity.
As with all former prime ministers, Major is entitled to round-the-clock police protection.
Elizabeth Major, a qualified veterinary nurse, married Luke Salter on 26 March 2000 at All Saints Church,
Somerby, having been in a relationship with him since 1988.
Salter died on 22 November 2002 from cancer. James Major, a former retail manager and nightclub promoter, married gameshow hostess
Emma Noble
Emma Jane Noble (born 26 June 1971) is an English model and actress. She was hostess on Bruce Forsyth's game show ''The Price Is Right'' for four years.
She worked as a catwalk model for John Rocha and Ghost before turning to commercial modellin ...
on 29 March 1999 in the Chapel Crypt at Westminster Abbey.
They had a son, Harrison, born July 2000, who was later diagnosed with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
. The marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce in 2003, with Noble accusing Major of "unreasonable behaviour".
James later married Kate Postlethwaite (née Dorrell), the mother of his second son.
Major's elder brother
Terry
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albrit ...
, who died in 2007, became a minor media personality during Major's period in Downing Street, writing a 1994 autobiography, ''Major Major: Memories of an Older Brother'', and appearing on TV shows such as ''
Have I Got News for You''.
John's sister Patricia Dessoy kept a much lower profile; she died in 2017. After leaving office Major became aware that his father fathered two half-siblings extramaritally: Tom Moss and Kathleen Lemmon.
Research conducted by Paul Penn-Simkins, a genealogist formerly employed as a researcher at the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
and as a heraldic consultant at
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
, and subsequently corroborated by Lynda Rippin, a genealogist employed by Lincolnshire Council, showed that John Major and Margaret Thatcher were fifth cousins once removed, both descending from the Crust family, who farmed at Leake, near
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...
.
Major has been keen on sports since his youth, most notably cricket; he is also a supporter of
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...
and a Patron of
British Gymnastics
British Gymnastics, also known as the British Amateur Gymnastics Association (BAGA), is the sports governing body for gymnastics and Trampolining in the UK.
History
It was founded in 1888 as the Amateur Gymnastics and Fencing Association. Gy ...
. He also enjoys gardening, listening to music and reading;
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
being among his favourite authors. Major is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, though his upbringing was never especially religious and he states that he is "a believer at a distance". He shied away from the topic when in office, stating that "I have always been a little wary of politicians who parade their faith, and prefer a little English reserve on the subject."
Honours
![John Major in Garter procession](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/John_Major_in_Garter_procession.jpg)
In the 1999 New Year Honours List, Major was made a
Companion of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...
for his work on the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
.
On 23 April 2005, Major was bestowed with a knighthood as a
Companion of the Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, outranked in ...
by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...
. He was installed at
St George's Chapel, Windsor
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
, on 13 June. Membership of the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
is limited in number to 24, and as a personal gift of the Monarch is an honour traditionally bestowed on former prime ministers.
On 20 June 2008, Major was granted the Freedom of the
City of Cork
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
. He was also granted the Outstanding Contribution to Ireland award in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on 4 December 2014.
On 8 May 2012, Major was personally decorated at the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo by the
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...
with the Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...
in recognition of his invaluable contributions to
Japan–UK relations through his work in the political and economic arena, and also in promoting mutual understanding. While prime minister, Major had pursued energetic campaigns aimed at boosting bilateral trade: "Priority Japan" (1991–94) and "Action Japan" (1994–97). The 1991 Japan Festival also took place under his premiership.
Awards
In 2008, Major won the
British Sports Book Awards (Best Cricket Book) for ''More Than a Game''.
Public commemoration
An
oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
of Major, painted in 1996 by
June Mendoza, is part of the Parliamentary collection, as is a bronze bust by Anne Curry, unveiled in the
Members' Lobby
The Members' Lobby is a hallway in the Palace of Westminster used by members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Members of Parliament may congregate here for discussions while not dealing with other ...
on 16 October 2017.
There is another bust of Major in the
Norman Shaw Building North by Neale Andrew, sculpted in 1993 and installed in 2004, however this is not accessible to the public.
A large bust of John Major by
Shenda Amery
Shenda Amery is a British painter and sculptor.
Biography
Amery was born in 1937 in London, England. In 1959 she relocated to Tehran, Iran. She is a member of the Chelsea Art Society, Free Painters and Sculptors, and the Royal Society of Sc ...
in Huntingdon Library was unveiled by his wife Norma in 1993.
A painting of John Major by Diccon Swan is on display at the
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.
History
The ...
, and was unveiled by his wife Norma in 1994. The
National Portrait Gallery holds two paintings of Major – the first official portrait of him as prime minister, painted by Peter Deighan in 1994, and one of John and Norma by
John Wonnacott, painted in 1997.
There is a large John Major Suite at
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
, home to Surrey County Cricket Club; the venue also contains a painting of Major.
There is a 'Heritage in Sutton' plaque on St Helier Hospital, where John Major was born in 1943, and a plaque commemorating him in
Archbishop's Park
Archbishop's Park is a park in Lambeth in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, which opened to the public in 1901. Before it became a park, it formed part of the grounds of Lambeth Palace.
History
Lambeth Palace has been the ...
next to
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
, included as part of the Lambeth Millennium Pathway. There are also various plaques commemorating facilities opened by John Major: at Brampton Memorial Centre,
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
(opened 1988),
Hamerton Zoo Park
Hamerton Zoo Park is situated in Hamerton, near Sawtry, Huntingdonshire, England.
Development
Planning permission for change of use from agricultural land to a zoo was granted in 1988, with the park being opened on 15 June 1990 by local MP, the ...
, Hamerton (1990),
Cadbury World
Cadbury World is a visitor attraction in Bournville, Birmingham, England, featuring a self-guided exhibition tour, created and run by the Cadbury Company. The tour tells the history of chocolate, and of the Cadbury business.
A second location ...
, Birmingham (1991), a tree commemorating the restoration of the River Mill pub,
Eaton Socon
Eaton Socon is a community in south-west Cambridgeshire. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neots, located on its south-west margin. Eaton Socon lies on the west side of the River Great Ouse, and is bounded on the west by the A1 ro ...
, the gardens at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon (2009), the North Terminal extension at
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
(2011), Huntingdonshire Football Association headquarters, Huntingdon (2015), and
Alconbury Weald
Alconbury Weald is a new settlement in Cambridgeshire, England, lying to the north-west of the town of Huntingdon. The site was previously part of RAF Alconbury, with planning permission for the first phase of the new settlement being granted in ...
cricket pitch (2019).
In 2013 the town of
Candeleda
Candeleda () is a town and municipality located in the province of Ávila, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2011 INE census, the municipality has a population of 5,213 inhabitants, making it the fifth large ...
in Spain named a street for John Major (, as Major has holidayed there for many years. Major Close, in
Loughborough Junction
Loughborough Junction is an area of South London, in the London Borough of Lambeth, which is located equidistant between Brixton, Camberwell and Herne Hill.
Loughborough Junction is centred on a rail junction consisting of seven railway bridg ...
near where John grew up, is also named for him; the street was to be called 'Sir John Major Close', however this long name breached council guidelines.
Arms
See also
*
1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
*
Electoral history of John Major
This is a summary of the electoral history of John Major, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market ...
*
First Major ministry
John Major formed the first Major ministry upon the resignation of Margaret Thatcher in November 1990, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form the next administration. Major inherited a majority government.
Formation
The resignati ...
*
Second Major ministry
John Major formed the second Major ministry following the 1992 general election after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to begin a new administration. His government fell into minority status on 13 December 1996.
Formation
The change of ...
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
* Bell, David S., Erwin C. Hargrove, and Kevin Theakston. "Skill in context: A comparison of politicians." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 29.3 (1999): 528–548; comparison of John Major with George H.W. Bush (US), and
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
(France).
*
*
* , covers his term as Chancellor.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Primary sources
*
*
External links
*
*
The Public Whip – John Major MPvoting record
Ubben Lecture at DePauw UniversityMore about John Majoron the
Downing Street
Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...
website.
'Prime-Ministers in the Post-War World: John Major' lecture by
Vernon Bogdanor
Vernon Bernard Bogdanor (; born 16 July 1943) is a British political scientist and historian, research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's College London and professor of politics at the New College of the Hu ...
at
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...
on 21 June 2007 (with video and audio files available for download).
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major, John
1943 births
20th-century prime ministers of the United Kingdom
20th-century Protestants
21st-century Protestants
British monarchists
British people of English descent
British Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Carlyle Group people
Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Conservative Party prime ministers of the United Kingdom
Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth
Cricket historians and writers
English Anglicans
English autobiographers
English bankers
English male non-fiction writers
English non-fiction writers
Knights of the Garter
Leaders of the Conservative Party (UK)
Leaders of the Opposition (United Kingdom)
Living people
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Rutlish School
People from Brixton
History of the London Borough of Lambeth
People from Carshalton
Politicians awarded knighthoods
Presidents of Chatham House
Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club
Presidents of the European Council
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
Chief Secretaries to the Treasury