Royalty And Heads Of State Codexery

John Major

British prime minister who succeeded Margaret Thatcher.

John Major

Flickr user Steve Punter · CC BY 2.0

His premiership included the 1992 general election victory, Black Wednesday, and the negotiation of the Maastricht Treaty.[1][2] On 28 November 1990, John Major accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government, becoming prime minister after Margaret Thatcher's resignation following a Conservative Party leadership contest.[3][4]

Quick Facts

Nickname
Grey Man
Office
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Monarch
Elizabeth II
Took office
28 November 1990
Left office
2 May 1997
Predecessor
Margaret Thatcher
Successor
Tony Blair

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

John Major was born on 29 March 1943 in St Helier, Surrey, to Gwen Major and former music hall performer Tom Major-Ball.[5] He left school at age 16 with three O-level passes and worked as a clerk, then at the London Electricity Board, while studying banking by correspondence.[6][7][8] Major joined the Young Conservatives in 1959 and became a Lambeth councillor in 1968, chairing the Housing Committee.[9][10][7] He was elected MP for Huntingdon in 1979 and rose through ministerial posts, becoming Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1987.[11][12]

Major served as Foreign Secretary for three months in 1989 and then as Chancellor of the Exchequer until November 1990.[13][14] He became Prime Minister on 28 November 1990 after winning the Conservative leadership contest following Thatcher's resignation.[4][3] His second ministry was marked by Black Wednesday in September 1992, internal party divisions over Europe, and the 1995 leadership challenge from John Redwood.[2][15][16] Major resigned as party leader after the Conservatives' landslide defeat in the 1997 general election and left Parliament in 2001.[17][18]

In the 9 April 1992 general election, the Conservatives secured their fourth consecutive victory, obtaining 336 seats with 41.9% of the vote and over 14 million votes, a record for any UK party.[19][20]

What the cited sources add

A BBC News account notes that Labour required an 8% swing to win the 1992 election, a margin not achieved since the post-war Labour landslide.[21] The same source states that replacing Thatcher with Major represented a dramatic change in style for the Conservatives.[21] A Guardian article reports that the month before Major became PM, the Tories trailed Labour by 16 points, but the month after, they led by 3 points.[22] The same article notes that the magazines considered legal action to recover costs after the Currie affair became public.[23]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watt, "John Major started process that has culminated with Queen's visit to Dublin", The Guardian, 17 May 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "1992: UK CRASHES OUT OF THE ERM", BBC News (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The 1992 General Election", BBC News; "The 1992 General Election", BBC News; Frankel, "MAJOR, CONSERVATIVES IN DEEP POLITICAL TROUBLE IN BRITAIN", The Washington Post, 12 June 1991 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; "1990: Tories choose Major for Number 10", BBC News, 27 November 1990; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ex Prime Minister Sir John Major and his Sewell Ancestors", Sole.org.uk; "Index entry", FreeBMD; Major 2000, p. 8–9; "John Major", History and Tour; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; "The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH", Johnmajorarchive.org; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; "LSBF Great Minds Series :Sir John Major on Vocational Education", 23 June 2014; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: F. W. S. Craig (1984), British Parliamentary Election Results, 1974–1983. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services.; "Mr Major's Maiden Speech – 13 June 1979", John Major official site, 13 June 1979; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Major 2000, p. 8–9; Seldon 1998, p. 9; Travis, "Lawson sparks reshuffle", The Guardian, 27 October 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shrimsley, "Brexit: the Conservatives and their thirty years' war over Europe", Financial Times, 14 December 2018; "European Council (Maastricht)", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 11 December 1991; "The rise and fall of New Labour", BBC News, 3 August 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  16. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Macintyre, "PM assails 'malcontent' Redwood", The Independent, 23 October 2011; Hoge, "Tories Slip Into Minority; Labor Silent on Forcing Election", The New York Times, 7 December 1996 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  17. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Labour Party returns to power in Britain", History, 9 February 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  18. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: <br />; "Mr John Major (Hansard)", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard); "Mr Major's Announcement of his Retirement from the House of Commons – 10 March 2000", John Major official site, 10 March 2000; "Profile – Jonathan Djangoly", BBC, 22 October 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  19. Wikipedia, "John Major" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kettle, "Pollsters taxed", The Guardian, 4 April 2005; "Past elections: 1992", The Guardian; "UK Election Statistics: 1918–2021: A century of elections", House of Commons Library, 18 August 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  20. "Past elections: 1992", The Guardian. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  21. "The 1992 General Election", BBC News. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
  22. Kettle, "Pollsters taxed", The Guardian, 4 April 2005. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  23. "Major faces legal action over affair", BBC News, 29 September 2002. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article John Major (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: In what year was British statesman John Major born: 1933, 1943, 1946 or 1947? · What is the nationality of John Major: Jordanian, British, French or Danish? · More people trivia

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