17 Rise of Major Flashcards
Economic developments before 1992 Election
. Mid 1991-92: unemployment rose from 1.6-2.6mil
. Many homeowners trapped in ‘negative equity’
. Many had home repossessed - affected traditional Tory voters
. Major’s govt resorted to high public spending - huge borrowing used for subsidies on transport + increased spending on NHS
Exchange Rate Mechanism
. Britain joined in 1990 to combat inflation
. By Sep 1992 British currency came under pressure
. Reached climax on 16 September - Black Wed
. £ continued to sink, left ERM
Black Wednesday - political consequences
. Ruined Tory rep of being good w economy
. Steep drop in support in opinion polls
. Major’s personal authority was weakened
. He was fiercely criticised by newspapers
. Labour shot ahead in the polls
. Major saw it as “the beginning of the end”
Black Wednesday
. Sep 1992: wave of speculative selling of £ on financial markets
. Norman Lamont, Chancellor, raised interest rates (already at 10%) to 12% then 15% to persuade foreign investors to buy £ again
. The Bank of England spent millions from reserves in buying up £
Economy after Black Wednesday
. Exchange rates went down, helping British exporters
. Unemployment rates slowed and housing market began to pick up
. Benefited from impact of financial deregulation and flexible working practices the Tories intro’d since 1979
. By 1997 productivity and consumer spending was up
. People were reluctant to credit Major with this
Sleaze and scandal
. More than a dozen sex scandals
. David Mellor and Tim Yeo had to resign for having extramarital affairs
. ‘cash for questions’ affair
. Made Major govt ripe for satire: Spitting Image made Major seem dull and totally grey
Political Policies
. Coal industry privatised in 1994
. Railways privatised in 1996
. Public concern prevented privatising Post Office
. 1991: Heseltine announced closure of 31 pits
. Outcry in Nottinghamshire made him U-turn
Northern Ireland
. From 1993, the govt received secret messages hinting that Sinn Fein was ready to discuss peace
. Unionists still feared being ‘sold out by the British’
. Republicans still deeply hostile to British
. Major had a good relationship with Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, President Clinton also contributed
Downing Street Declaration
. December 1993: Major + Reynolds
. The people of N.I. could decide their own future without interference from London + Dublin govts
. N.I. would be part of 32 county Ireland if Majority wanted it
. Allowed parties like Sinn Fein + DUP to solve issues without external interference
Result of Downing Street Declaration
. August 1994: IRA announced ceasefire
. Loyalist paramilitaries in October - didn’t last long
. British outlined that their job in NI was to ‘encourage’ peace
. NI has been mostly peaceful ever since
The Troubles 1987-93
. March 1988: 3 killed at funeral of one killed in Gibraltar by loyalist Michael Stone
. 2 off duty soldiers killed at funeral of one killed by Michael Stone
. April 1992: Baltic Exchange, London bombing, 3 killed by IRA
. March 1993: Warrington bomb, 2 kids killed by IRA
After Downing Street Declaration
. Unionists didn’t believe IRA’s commitment to peace
. IRA got impatient and went back to violent methods
. Bomb attacks damaged financial district at Canary Wharf, London + destroyed centre of Manchester in 1996
Conservative divisions
. Thatcher + Tebbit encouraged Eurosceptics to demand referendum on Europe
. Leadership election in 1995 - 89 voted against him
. Opposition to Maastricht Treaty within party offended Major, heard describing critics as “bastards” - assumed to be Peter Lilley, Michael Portillo + John Redwood
Maastricht Treaty
. Many were concerned by loss of sovereignty entailed by Treaty so voted against the ratifying bills
. July 1993: organised resistance defeated key Bill necessary for Treaty to come into effect in Nov
. Major reintro’d proposal to accept Treaty as part of a formal vote of confidence in govt - forced it through
. Made Europhiles seem undemocratic
