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. [311] Seldon concludes that "Major was neither non-entity nor failure. 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. [39][40] Encouraged by fellow Conservative Derek Stone, he started giving speeches on a soap-box in Brixton Market. [134] 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. 344,028,143 stock photos, 360 panoramic images, vectors and videos, Share Alamy images with your team and customers. Major said Brexit is, "the worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime. Having left school a day before turning sixteen, Major joined the Young Conservatives in 1959, and soon became a highly active member. However, an affair with a different woman, Edwina Currie, came out a decade later, and both of these publications considered legal action to recover their costs when that happened. [92][93], Major later became an assistant whip in January 1983, responsible for East Anglian MPs. He was succeeded as prime minister by Blair. [120][121][nb 7] The then-Chancellor Nigel Lawson generally made significant decisions with little input from others, and Major was put in charge of agreeing departmental budgets with the Secretaries of State. [203][204] With no remaining challengers, Major was formally named Leader of the Conservative Party that evening and was duly appointed prime minister the following day. "[323], The media (particularly The Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell) used the allegation by Alastair Campbell that he had observed Major tucking his shirt into his underpants to caricature him wearing his pants outside his trousers,[324] as a pale grey echo of both Superman and Supermac, a parody of Harold Macmillan. Netflix defended the series as a "fictional dramatisation". On 9 April 1992, Major called an election. Redefining the workforce: what jobs are AI likely to replace first? It shouldn't be used for commercial use which includes advertising, marketing, promotion, packaging, advertorials, and consumer or merchandising products. [161][162] Tax cuts were also made which benefited football associations, the aim being to increase funding on safety measures following the Bradford City stadium fire and Hillsborough disaster. Links to other UK stories are at the foot of the page. They met on polling day for the Greater London Council elections in London, and became engaged after only ten days. [6] His birth had been a difficult one, with his mother suffering from pleurisy and pneumonia and John Major requiring several blood transfusions due to an infection, causing permanent scarring to his ankles. [250] Major was a Patron of the sight loss and learning disability charity SeeAbility from 2006 to 2012 and has been a vice-president since 2013. Moment commuter blasts eco-zealots, Student kicked out of school for 'there are only two genders' t-shirt, Russian freight train derails and bursts into flames after explosion, Royal superfans camping on The Mall ahead of King's Coronation, Women's rights activists and pro-trans campaigners separated, Historic chairs to be reused by the King for the coronation service, Saboteurs wreck Russian train cut power cables 37mi from Ukraine, Braverman: People crossing Channel are 'at odds with British values', Cambridge students party in the park during annual celebrations, Unseen footage of Meghan Markle during her teenage years, Moment large saltwater crocodile snatches pet dog off beach in QLD, Hundreds of Household Division members rehearse for coronation. [44] In December 1966 he was sent for a long secondment in Jos, Nigeria, which he enjoyed immensely, though he was put off by the casual racism of some of the ex-pat workers there. Yesterday he told of his fight with the potentially fatal condition, known. John Major was born on March 29, 1943, in St Helier, Carshalton, Surrey, London, England. [334], Major was often mocked for his nostalgic evocation of what sounded like the lost Britain of the 1950s .mw-parser-output div.crossreference{padding-left:0}(see Merry England);[335] 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'. [169][170], 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 (ERM), and he and Douglas Hurd (Major's successor as Foreign Secretary) set about trying to convince a reluctant Thatcher to join it. [166][167] 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. ", Appointed Prime Minister: John Major (Conservative), This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 08:04. Luke Salter, 29, a newly qualified doctor, married the former Prime Minister's daughter Elizabeth, 30, two years ago. DETAILS Restrictions: In April 1992 Labour-run Lambeth Council rebuffed plans for a plaque commemorating Major in the borough, stating that there was already "sufficient monument to John Major in the form of the Stockwell Park and Moorlands Estates". The news of Mr Salter's tumour comes three months after his wife's brother James Major, 27, suffered a meningitis scare and a burst appendix. Major's term ended with his resignation on 2 May 1997. [13][14] In 1954 John passed the 11+ exam, enabling him to go to Rutlish School, a grammar school in Merton Park, though to John's chagrin his father insisted that he register as 'John Major-Ball'. [181][nb 10] He also agreed a restructuring and write-off of some Third World debt at a Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in September 1990. But I'm receiving treatment for it with a curative intent. It was replaced with the physical Euro currency in 1999. [18][19][nb 3] With his parents distracted by their reduced circumstances, John Major's difficulties at Rutlish went unnoticed. [266][267], In September 2002, it was revealed that, prior to his elevation to the Cabinet, Major had had a four-year-long extramarital affair with Edwina Currie, from 1984 to 1988. [7][8], The Major familyJohn, his parents, and his two older siblings Terry and Pat)[nb 1]lived at 260 Longfellow Road, Worcester Park, 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. [330][326] 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. Oct 21 1650 - Messingham, Lincolnshire, England Death: 1721 - Lincolnshire, England Parents: Robert Little, Martha Helen Little (born Hood) Husband: George Major Daughter: Ellen Chaffer (born Major) View the Record Mary Major (born Little)in MyHeritage family trees (Royall Web Site) [343], Major was portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller in the fifth season of The Crown in 2022. [114][115] Amidst intense media criticism, Major discussed the issue with Margaret Thatcher and an increase in the payments was approved. Please, The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. About 180 guests packed in for a ceremony which the Reverend Reg Stretton admitted was "the biggest I have ever done". [293] In July 2022, immediately following 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. However, his polite, easy-going manner was initially well received by both his supporters and his critics. [302], 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". [218] This was the Conservatives' fourth consecutive election victory. 'Because of the rareness of it, it's difficult to speculate about how things will turn out. The European Currency Unit was a notional unit of account based on a weighted 'basket' of major European currencies. I hope that everyone will respect that wish., Mr Salter, a keen cricketer and golfer, revealed in August that. But, the politicians who are said to have hides like rhinos and be utterly impervious to criticism, if theyre not extinct, they are very rare and I freely confess I wasn't amongst them. BUY TWO IMAGES, GET THE LOWEST PRICE IMAGE HALF PRICE WITH CODE: 50%OFFNEXTIMAGE. [276] 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. An obituary of Tony Newton in The Daily Telegraph claimed that if Newton had not kept the affair a closely guarded secret, "it is highly unlikely that Major would have become prime minister". "Skill in context: A comparison of politicians. Every time he gets up now I keep thinking, 'What on earth is Councillor Major doing?' [259][260], Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Major was appointed a special guardian to Princes William and Harry, with responsibility for legal and administrative matters. Following Thatcher's resignation in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, Major stood in the 1990 Conservative Party leadership election to replace her and emerged victorious, becoming prime minister. In the 1997 election on 1 May 1997, Labour won a 179-seat majority, ending their eighteen years in opposition. [213] Additionally, inflation was in double digits and interest rates reached 15%. Lord Cranborne, his chief of staff during the election, and the chief whip, Alastair Goodlad, 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. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. [88][89] He became Secretary of the Environment Committee and also assisted with work on the Housing Act 1980, which allowed council house tenants the Right to Buy their homes. [224] Following a string of by-election defeats, the Conservatives' majority of 21 had been eroded by 13 December 1996.[225]. Private Eye parodied Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, age 13 to run a regular column The Secret Diary of John Major, age 47, in which Major was portrayed as nave 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 characters. He added: 'Of course, it came as a terrible shock and this is a very difficult time for me and Elizabeth and our families. [116][117], Following the 1987 general election, in which Major retained his seat with an increased majority,[118][119] he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, making him the first MP of the 1979 intake to reach the Cabinet. [270] In a press statement, Major said that he was "ashamed" by the affair and that his wife had forgiven him. [292], In February 2022, Major made a speech at the Institute for Government think-tank in London, in which he criticised Johnson over the Partygate scandal, suggesting that he ought to resign, and also the proposed policy for those seeking asylum which he called "un-British". [342] Less flatteringly, Major was the subject of the song John Major Fuck You by Scottish punk band Oi Polloi. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------. This was later enacted under Labour Chancellor. [15][16] The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse, with his father's health deteriorating,[nb 2] and the business in severe financial difficulties. She was born in Shropshire while her father was stationed there during World War II. [231][232], Major's Resignation Honours were announced on 1 August 1997. He died peacefully in hospital with Elizabeth and his closest family beside him. Major called the series a "barrel-load of nonsense" for a fictitious storyline in which the then Prince Charles lobbies Major in 1991, attempting to oust Queen Elizabeth II from power. They were married at the parish church, All Saints, in Somerby in March 2000. Immediate Family: Daughter of George Majors and Susanna Pray. Editorial media includes use as a visual reference to support your article, story, critique or educational text. [48][49] Leaving hospital, he split his time between Jean Kierans' house and a small rented flat in Mayfair, working at Standard Bank's London office and resuming his banking diploma and activities with the Young Conservatives in his spare time. [195][194] Both John Major and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd supported Thatcher in the first round. [174][175] With the 'Lawson Boom' showing signs of running out of steam, exacerbated by rising oil prices following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, there were fears of a potential recession and pressure to cut interest rates. [350][351] Salter died on 22 November 2002 from cancer. [96][97], Major comfortably won re-election to the now slightly enlarged seat of Huntingdon at the 1983 general election. [277] He told BBC News that he and Lamont had been the victims of "whispering voices" to the press. Pay for the usage you need, licensing that works for you. [191][177] 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. [351][353] They had a son, Harrison, born July 2000, who was later diagnosed with autism. [10] Following a German V-1 flying bomb attack in the area in 1944 which killed several people, the Majors moved to the village of Saham Toney, Norfolk, for the duration of the war.[7][8]. In 1993, Major sued two magazines, New Statesman 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. Get in touch for commercial uses. [405], In 2013 the town of Candeleda in Spain named a street for John Major (Avenida de John Major), as Major has holidayed there for many years. Neil Kinnock was replaced by John Smith as Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition in 1992. [94][95] During this period Major became also involved in the response to protests at RAF Molesworth, which lay in his constituency; various peace groups were opposed to the siting of cruise missiles at the base and had established a permanent 'peace camp' there. John and Norma Major, who have already endured a string of health scares with their son James, were away on holiday and unavailable to comment. [297] Ongoing 'sleaze'-related scandals among leading Conservative MPs also did Major and his government no favours, decreasing support for the party amongst the public. The department was later split into two separate ministries for Health and Social Security in 1988. [244] In March 2001 he gave the tribute to cricketer Colin Cowdrey at his memorial service in Westminster Abbey. Available for editorial and personal use only. [228][229][230] Major's resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect on 19 June 1997 after the election of William Hague. [110][111] Major began to gain a bigger profile, giving his first speech at the Conservative Party Conference in October 1986. [36][34] In the meantime he studied for a qualification in banking via correspondence course. Hon. [81][82] In 1977 the Major family purchased a house at De Vere Close in the village of Hemingford Grey. [388][389], A large bust of John Major by Shenda Amery in Huntingdon Library was unveiled by his wife Norma in 1993. Major was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntingdonshire, from 1979 to 2001. "[228], Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the leadership election to replace him was underway. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. [36][34], 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. [235] Jonathan Djanogly took over as MP for Huntingdon, retaining the seat for the Conservatives at the 2001 election. [112][113] He first attracted major national media attention in January 1987 over cold weather payments to the elderly, when Britain was in the depths of a severe winter. [91] 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. daughter former prime minister john major, fiance luke salter family home near huntingdon, portrait semi profile smiling 1/2 half length arm around ring. Major left the committee in 2011, citing concerns with the planned redevelopment of Lord's Cricket Ground. There are also various plaques commemorating facilities opened by John Major: at Brampton Memorial Centre, Brampton (opened 1988),[398] Hamerton Zoo Park, Hamerton (1990),[399] Cadbury World, Birmingham (1991),[400] a tree commemorating the restoration of the River Mill pub, Eaton Socon,[401] the gardens at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon (2009),[402] the North Terminal extension at Gatwick Airport (2011),[403] Huntingdonshire Football Association headquarters, Huntingdon (2015),[404] and Alconbury Weald cricket pitch (2019). Biography She is the daughter of Norman Wagstaff and Edith Johnson, and was born Norma Christina Elizabeth Wagstaff. . Genealogy for Elizabeth Major (Jones) (c.1715 - 1795) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. 1324 x 2000 px (11.21 x 16.93 cm) - 300 dpi - 1 MB. [257][249][347] As with all former prime ministers, Major is entitled to round-the-clock police protection.[348][349]. Collect, curate and comment on your files. magazine for about 25,000. John Major is a British politician who served as the prime minister of the UK and the leader of the 'Conservative Party' from 1990 to 1997. [34] 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. [333] The incident prompted Cabinet Secretary Robin Butler to warn Channel 4 head Michael Grade against any further calls for fear that state secrets could be inadvertently leaked. [209] By the time of Major's appointment, Labour's lead had shrunk to 14%. Elizabeth Major was present in court for the hearing. Never have the stakes been higher, especially for the young. The Conservatives were defeated in the 1997 general election, resulting in a Labour government ending 18 years of Conservative rule. [300] Major's Chancellor Ken Clarke 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. ", "It's time to give John Major the credit we so cruelly denied him", "John Major at 25: the best ex-Prime Minister we've ever had? [299], Major defended his government in his memoirs, focusing particularly on how under him the British economy had recovered from the recession of 19901993. [234] He stood down from the House of Commons at the 2001 general election, having announced his retirement from Parliament on 10 March 2000. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, Major's comments on the 25th Anniversary of the. [171][172][173] The move was supported by the Bank of England, the Treasury, most of the Cabinet, the Labour Party, several major business associations and much of the press. She was three months' pregnant with a fourth child whose father was William Cameron. [385][386][387] 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. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options await you. [370] He also enjoys gardening, listening to music and reading; Anthony Trollope being among his favourite authors. He was elected to Lambeth London Borough Council in 1968, and a decade later to parliament, being elected as the Conservative MP for Huntingdonshire, later Huntingdon, in the 1979 general election. Major's elder brother Terry, 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. [104][105] Major narrowly avoided the IRA's Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984, having left the hotel only a few hours before the bomb went off. Economic growth wasn't re-established until early 1993. Chief Secretary to the Treasury (19871989). [355] James later married Kate Postlethwaite (ne Dorrell), the mother of his second son. [205][206][207] At 47, he was the youngest prime minister since Lord Rosebery some 95 years earlier. [52][53] Major took a major interest in housing matters, with Lambeth notorious for overcrowding and poor-quality rented accommodation. Open your image file to the full size using image processing software. Sponsored A spokesman. He describes the illness as 'a form of cancer of the meninges, the layer of tissue that overlays the brain and spinal cord'. 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. [371][372] Major is a Christian, though his upbringing was never especially religious and he states that he is "a believer at a distance". [257] They also own a flat in London and a holiday home on the Norfolk coast at Weybourne, which they have in the past invited ex-soldiers to use for free as part of the Afghan Heroes charity. 'I'd had the ring for about six weeks but I had the moment planned for a long time,' he said at the time. 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. [35][34] 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". [214][215] However, opinion polling for Major's government remained stable during this period. Registered in England No. [106], In September 1985, Major was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS), before being promoted to become Minister of State in the same department in September 1986. [362][363][364][365][366], Major has been keen on sports since his youth, most notably cricket;[367] he is also a supporter of Chelsea F.C. [183], 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, which was facing serious opposition across the country. After John was born, Zacharias prophesied of John's calling as "the prophet of the Highest" ().John would prepare the way for the Lord, the Messiah who would "perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham" (Luke 1:72-73).Interestingly, Elisabeth's name in Hebrew means "God is my oath."1
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