1990-1997 Flashcards
Describe John Majors upbringing?
- Born in 1943 in London
- Major moved to Brixton, and left school at 16, with no post 16 education
- He alternated betweeen clerk and construction jobs, before joining standard chartered bank and worked his way up
- Briefly lived in Nigeria in 1960s
- In 1979, he was elected into the house of commons for the conservative, where he rose through the ranks and gained the attention of maggie
- Quickly became her chief secretary of the treasury and then foreign sec and then CofE
What was John Majors’ image like before coming PM?
He was seen as a stollid MP and a ‘safe pair of hands’. Thatcherites saw him as one of them but some believed he had betrayed Maggie
Had a genuine appeal to ordinary people to his less privelleged upbringing
Why was the 1992 election a shock?
It was widely assumed that Labour would win the 1992 election
However, Neil Kinnock led a poorly judged LAB campaign, when in a sheffield rally a week before the election he applieda ‘razzamataz’ of American politics with Kinnock arriving in a helicopter accompanied by an orchestra. Kinnock also exchanged boundless, repetitive shouts with the audience that Kinnock later admitted was tasteless and premature.
What did LAB do in the short term that jepordised their chance of winning the 1992 election?
- Neil Kinnock led a poorly judged LAB campaign, when in a sheffield rally a week before the election he applieda ‘razzamataz’ of American politics with Kinnock arriving in a helicopter accompanied by an orchestra. Kinnock also exchanged boundless, repetitive shouts with the audience that Kinnock later admitted was tasteless and premature.
- LAB also presented a shadow budget that seemed to threaten increases in taxation
- This contrasted to Major who would stand on a soap box and suggest the CONs were the only ones who could manage the economy effectively
- The sun also switched support from the Labour party to the conservatives lasst minute
- Many also felt that LAB had not yet reformed enough
How many seats/votes did CONs get in the 1992 election?
336 seats and 51.6% of the votes
How many seats/votes did LAB get in the 1992 eleciton?
271 seats and 41.6% of the vote
Explain the result of the 1992 election?
Labour gained 42 seats, and the CONs lost 40 seat, yet they still retained a majoirty of 21 seats
What were the major scandals/sleaze under Major?
- His affair with Edwina currie
- Iraq scandals
- Cash for questions affair
What made the CON leadership seem even more sleezy?
Major had launched a ‘back to basics’ campaign, upon which much of his social policies drew upon.
What was the ‘back to basics’ campaign?
Launched by Major in 1993, he suggested it was time Britain got ‘back to basics’ that the radical society needed to go, the nation should return to innocence and there should be a move away from the ‘selfish soceiety’ of Thatcher
What was the ‘back to basics’ campaign?
Launched by Major in 1993, he suggested it was time Britain got ‘back to basics’ that the radical society needed to go, the nation should return to innocence and there should be a move away from the ‘selfish soceiety’ of Thatcher
What were the Iraq scandals under major?
The scott enquiry showed that ‘ministers had been economical with the truth’ in enabling the arms company matrix churchill to supply arms to Iraw, despite its illegality due to the embarg on Iraq. Jonathon Aitken breached the embargo on Iraw himself when he exported arms to Iraw from his defence contracting firm
What was the ‘cash for questions’ affair?
Neil Hamilton and other conservative MPs were found accepting money in exchange for lobbying on behalf of contreversial owner of Harrods Muhammed Al Fayed
Why was the ‘Cash for questions’ affair particularly damaging?
Neil Hamilton refused to Resign, greatly irritating and embarrasing Major. IT lasted such a long time in the press, all the way to the run up of the 1997 election. Hamilton was beat in the elction by independent Martin Bell
How was John Major presented in the Media?
- Spitting image made portrayed Major in only black and white and as dull and boring
- THe private eye made and Adrian Mole spoof ‘The secret Diary of John Major aged 47 and 3/4’
- Guardian cartoonists portrayed him as a grey superhero wearing Y Fronts
Nonetheless, none of the satire was viscious and he remained personally more popular than the rest of his party
What were Major’s main political policies?
- General continuation of Privitisation
- The Private finance initiative
- The Citizens charter
- Cones hotline
- Continuation of pit closures
Majors political policies
Explain the continuation of privitisation under Major?
Coal was Privitised in 1994 and and the railways were privitised in 1996, there were plans to privitise the post office, but these fell through due to public concerns
Majors political policies
Explain the Private finance initiative?
Public - private partnerships meant that private companies would finance infrastructure and then deliver the public serrvices that the state would pay for over the length of the contract
Majors political policies
Explain the citizens’ charter?
Introduced in 1991, the Citizens charter attempted to give public services users more power over the quality of services they achieved, by providing information about the standards they should expect, this involved more testing in education and schools publishing the results
Majors political policies
What was the ‘cones hotline’?
A phone network that could be rung if motorwats were closed off without any sign of roadwork - this became a target of political satire and mockery
Majors political policies
Explain the continuation of pit closures under Major?
in 1991, Heseltine announced the closure of 31 pits, including those in nottinhamshire (seen as a poor reward for not striking)
This caused outcry and Heseltine had to Ut turn in the short term, but closures still went ahead
What domestic crisis was a big issue for Major?
The BSE or ‘mad cow diesease’ crisis was first identified in the 1980s, but it becoming recognised as a threat to human health in 1996 led to British beef being banned in Europe.
How did the Political policies of Major undermine his government?
No indivdual policy was so unpopular it singlehadnedly undermined the government, but combined with the sleaze, scandals and economic crises, it helped create and image of conservative incompetence.
What events caused by the IRA in the Early years of Majors premiership increased NI tensions?
- Major had been in office for less than two months when the IRA fired mortar bombs at downing street
- A sustain bombing campaignf followed, with 2 children killed and 40 injured in warrington bins
- 1 person killed and 40 injured by a bomb in a lorry in London
How did the IRA’s bombing campaign affect the political stage regarding NI?
Angered both sides with peace protests in Belfast, Dublin and London
Public support for the IRA dell as they blamed the British police for not listening to the warnings given
Moves were made to move toward a peace agreement
What actions did Major do that increased NI tensions?
- The Thatcher approach meant govt banned organisation believed to be supporting terrorists
- State was accused of the SAS using a ‘shoot to kill policy’ after 3 IRA members were killed in Gibraltar
- High profile miscarriages of justics like the birmingham six and guildford four
What kickstarted the moves towards a peace agreement?
The British Govt recieved hints from Sinn Fein suggesting they were ready to initiate peace talks- but both sides were resentful and angry
What two relationships meant the move toward peace was easier?
Major had a good working relationship with the Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Bill Clinton also encouraged Sinn Fein to move away from armed struggle
What did Major and Reynolds achieve in 1993?
The Downing street decleration
What was the IRA’s reaction to the Downing street decleration?
Announced a ceasefire the following year in 1994, but bombed canary wharf and centre of manchester anyway in 1996 - but the peace process continued
What was the Downing Street Decleration?
On 15th Dec 1993, Reynolds and Major outlined a plan to lead to peace and multiparty talks involving Sinn Fein
* The British government announced no selfish interest in NI
* Argued any agreeement was to be based on the will of the people
* Significantly said a united Ireland could be brought about if it wished
* The British governments role was to enocurage the peace process and not just one specific outcome
* The Irish gov said they would recognise a significant minority and they could not be forced into agreements
What were the initial reactions to the Downing street decleration?
- Hardliners were outraged with Iain Paissley calling it a ‘sellout to Dublin’
- More moderate unionists were prepared to consider the document
- Sinn Fein said it would be hard to sell the plan to the IRA army council, and said clarification on many aspects was needed
What were the drawbacks to the Downing street decleration?
- Despite the IRA announcing a ceasefire in 1994, they still bombed Canary Wharf and Manchester City centre
- The Decleration was not definitive, as it was simply a statement of principles, however this arguably was key in leading to the Good Friday Agreement
What did the Downing Street decleration symbolise?
Signalled a public change by the two governments on how the were prepared to approach NI’s political future, paving the way for future talks
How did the US contribute to reducing NI tensions?
- In Jan 1994, Gerry Adams was allowed a 48 hour visit to the US, ending the political Isolation of Sinn Fein
- Clinton became the first president to visit NI in 1995
- Senator George Mitchell chaired a international council on the NI issue, and presented a report that stated peace could only occur if there was a total demilitarisation of parliamnetary organisation and all parties accpeted that any agreements reached in negotiation were binding
Both sides would have to accept that peace was as politically profitable as war
What were Major’s economic developments pre-1992 election?
- unemployment rose by 1 million to 2.6 million with many homeowners trapped in ‘negative equity’ even affecting traditional rich tory voters
- With an election incoming, Major resorted to higher public spending (much of which forced due to higher unemployement) used to subsidise transport costs and NHS spending
What is ‘Negative equity’?
Many homeowners had to repay mortages at higher value than their homes, with many homes being repossed and affecting all aspects of society, incl the traditional tory rich
What caused ‘Black wednesday’?
Within months of winning the 1992 election, Britain was in economic crises and was forced to leave the ERM (European exchange rate mechanism) which aimed to sttabilise currencies by limiting how much their value could change
When was Britain in the ERM?
Joined the ERM under Thatcher when inflation started to rise i 1990, and the pound had to maintain a value of 2.95 German marks.
When was Black Wednesday?
On September 16th 1992, Nigel Lamont announced the decision to leave the ERM live on television after the value of the £ was punt under pressure, despite Major’s best efforts to avoid this
How detrimental was Black Wednesday economically?
The effects were not as bad as percieved, with the economy quickly recovering and leaving the ERM having many beneifts
What were the Political consequences of Black wednesday?
- The long standong conservative electoral asset of being trusted with the economy was thrown away
- CON opinion polls dropped steeply and Major’s personal authority weakend
- Labour 15% ahead in the Polls
- Deepend conservative divisions, with Euroscpetics argument against deeper integration into Europe being Strengthened
What was the economy like under Major after Black wednesday?
- Leaving the ERM meant there were lower exchange rates, helping British exporters
- Unemployment slowed and the housing market began to improve
- The American economy was recovering from a recession and world trade was expanding
- Britain was doing better than Germany who struggled with costs of Unification
- By 1997, most economic indicators were positive, producitivty, consumer spending car ownership and house prices up, businesses were supportive of government policies, but many were reluctant to credit this to major and the Tories
What were the 3 main areas of Majors’ Foreign policy?
- Europe
- Balkans
- End of the Cold war
What was thatchers’ view on Europe?
Initially, following the 1986 Single European act, Thatcher seemed more Pro-European, but it became apparent that the SEA would limit the individual influence of states which worried Thatcher and many other CON MPs and she became more negative towards Europe after this.
What event/speech highlighted Thatcher’s attitude towards Europe?
A speech in Bruges emphasised the EEEC was a free trade association of soverieng states and was absolutely opposed to federalism and the idea of ‘ever closer political union’ Whereas president of EEC comission Jacques Delores thought this was absolultely the direction of the EEC
This speech encouraged the creation of the Bruges group, who focused on all opposition to a European federal state
Who were the Europhilles of Majors cabinet?
- Ken Clarke
- Chris pattern
Who were the Eurosceptics of Major’s cabinet?
- Micahel portillo
- John Redwood
- Backbenchers like Iain Duncan SMith
