The Major years - ignoring political bias (if you can), what was Major’s premiership (1990-1997) like - what are your memories of it?

I was only 8 when he took over from Thatcher so I was too young to understand. I’m always surprised that he was PM for 7 years and I forget how late in the 90s (1997) that Blair came to power.

As a young teenager growing up in the 90s, I obviously have a nostalgic view of that period, but looking back, was it not Major who built the foundations for many of Blair’s successes?

To me, Major is always remembered (or forgotten) for his boring Spitting Image persona, post Black Friday economic revival, cabinet scandals and Edwina Currie.

I am genuinely interested as I am too young to remember / understand.

Most things that are implemented by government take a full term for the full effect to be realised so most governments spend 5 years putting right their predecessors mistakes that their successor then takes credit for!

I'm biased as someone who's generally a conservative and around the same age but I think the Premierships of the likes of Major and Brown will be reassessed to be much more positive as the years pass by.

I've been interested in politics for a long time and have read Major's autobiography as well as those of other figures from the time, and also met local MPs from the area both before and after 1997.

I would say, without wanting to sound like a "What have the Romans ever done for us?" speech, that following the division and radicalism of the Thatcher years, the Major administration was a largely benign government, with several key achievements both in terms of positive legislation and longer term reforms, while also being (towards the end) somewhat shambolic with scandals engulfing senior figures.

Negatives:

-  Black Wednesday recession was terrible for the country
-  Scandal dogged the government
-  Major was hamstrung by some truly dreadful ministers and backbenchers who actively tried to disrupt his government because they never got over the removal of Mrs Thatcher
-  As the country pulled out of recession and towards a balanced budget, public sector investment didn't increase enough to stop a lot of schools and hospitals being quite dilapidated.  Barralad is probably the best person to give you a frontline view on this.
-  There was an internal war over the EC/EU with Major treading a fine line between moderate EU-scepticism and aggressive anti-EU sentiment on his backbenches
-  He failed to hold a referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, which in retrospect could have helped gain acceptance for the transition from the EC to the EU, or at least (had it been rejected) given Major grounds to ask for some reforms and changes in Brussels.

Positives

-  After the Thatcher years, he was a more emollient figure, abolishing the Poll Tax and introducing the Disability Discrimination Act.
-  Showed calm foreign policy leadership during Gulf War and Bosnia, operating through defined UN mandates and in an international coalition.
-  Introduced National Lottery and through the Ministry of National Heritage, sowed the seeds for DCMS and the growth in the arts, sports (including our much-improved Olympic performance!) and culture over the last 25 years (though too London-centric)
-  Followed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement
-  Kept Britain out of the Euro
-  The post-Black Wednesday budgets did return the country to growth and when Gordon Brown had delivered the final Ken Clarke Budget and its effects had worked into the economy, the national budget was in surplus

There'll be a lot more that others can add, and you'll find died-in-the-wool Labour supporters who will say he didn't invest adequately in public services and oversaw a torrent of sleaze.  I'd say there may be truth in those charges, but also that he had a majority of about 20 and after resignations (many of which were for personal indiscretions that wouldn't even make the papers nowadays) and deaths, he was effectively a minority government held hostage by the worst sort of backbenchers left over from the Thatcher years.

In all, I don't think he'll go down as a great PM, but his reputation will improve over time, and I think most people now, given how we're currently governed,  would bite your arm off to have him back!

All I remember about Major was, if there was a cricket match on he would be there.

Don't think anyone will ever put up a statue of John Major.

I just wish the same could be said of Thatcher, there will be one shortly in Grantham. Luckily the trees will hide it from a most angles.

Just another lying cheating male masturbator who treated the British people with contempt.

In line with the likes of Blair, Brown, Camoron, May and Johnson.

Non-football

Quoted from arryarryarry

Just another lying cheating male masturbator who treated the British people with contempt.

In line with the likes of Blair, Brown, Camoron, May and Johnson.

Big fan of politicians I see.  ;D ;D ;D

Quoted from Grantham_Mariner

Big fan of politicians I see.  ;D ;D ;D

Always have been😉

All I remember is he was shagging edwina currie ffs ... he was useless he brought in the Pfi schemes in the nhs which Blair carried On  absolute fookn disaster  

Quoted from arryarryarry

Just another lying cheating male masturbator who treated the British people with contempt.

In line with the likes of Blair, Brown, Camoron, May and Johnson.

You have to ask yourself why someone would ever want to be a politician. I worked on election campaigns for Labour in the 60s and 70s and realised that they do not need to be clever, just cunning. They can get away with lies and deceit because their politics means 50% of the voters are supporters who will take no notice and the other 50% expect it anyway. They just brush off the awkward stuff.I saw Tony Benn do it, Tony Crossland and George Brown. But in those days it was at least face to face and they had open meetings.

Major was/is a quiet operator but he was not a fool. He won the 1992 election by reading the mind of people’s fear of Labour and that forced the Blair/Brown pact and policies to make Labour electable in 1997.

What I remember most of the 90s politically is the deliberate use of mass media to create an image. There was the alliance of Blair with Murdoch and the rapid rise of the media manipulators, Mandelson and Campbell. For the first time I thought people were being conned in their millions by clever presentation that made the Saatchi stuff of Thatcher’s years look amateurish. The one quote from 1997 that sticks in my mind? "I think most people who have dealt with me think I am a pretty straight sort of guy, and I am,“

Shocking....he deserved the win in 1992, not so in 1997. It took a decade for the party to recover any credibility, and he whilst not totally to blame, was in part not strong enough. When you are waking up to MP's being found dead, naked with oranges stuck in somewhat bizarre places, dont be too surprised when you are turfed out of office.  Surrey Cricket man as well....tosser.

For what it's worth, my opinion is that people look back at governments through the eyes of the press. This is where I personally have a problem, since the majority support the conservatives and always put a blue spin on things. Gone are the days where newspapers reported the news of the day in a neutral fashion. The Murdoch press in particular will always support the tories to the point where it has become nothing more than the mouthpiece for the tories. It is very difficult to get a balanced view of Thatcher, Major, and Blair for example

.It also depends on what you want from a government. The one thing Major will be remembered for is privatising British Rail. He was the architect behind it. I also remember that he had avery slim majority, which meant he was held to ransom by  his own MPs, and found it very difficult to get things through Parliament without a fair amount of "horse trading".In the end the Tories ran out of steam, and the country was ready for change that Blair gave them. Major was seen as dull and unimaginal,  and didn't have new ideas, or if he did he struggled to get them through parliament. He did abolish Thatcher's hated poll tax, but increased VAT from 15% to 17.5% to pay for a reduction in income tax. So high earners had a tax cut while we paid an extra 2.5% on everything we bought.

In the end even the press turned against him and Blair got a landslide victory.

Quoted from mimma

For what it's worth, my opinion is that people look back at governments through the eyes of the press. This is where I personally have a problem, since the majority support the conservatives and always put a blue spin on things. Gone are the days where newspapers reported the news of the day in a neutral fashion. The Murdoch press in particular will always support the tories to the point where it has become nothing more than the mouthpiece for the tories. It is very difficult to get a balanced view of Thatcher, Major, and Blair for example

.It also depends on what you want from a government. The one thing Major will be remembered for is privatising British Rail. He was the architect behind it. I also remember that he had avery slim majority, which meant he was held to ransom by  his own MPs, and found it very difficult to get things through Parliament without a fair amount of "horse trading".In the end the Tories ran out of steam, and the country was ready for change that Blair gave them. Major was seen as dull and unimaginal,  and didn't have new ideas, or if he did he struggled to get them through parliament. He did abolish Thatcher's hated poll tax, but increased VAT from 15% to 17.5% to pay for a reduction in income tax. So high earners had a tax cut while we paid an extra 2.5% on everything we bought.

In the end even the press turned against him and Blair got a landslide victory.

The Murdoch press was very anti-Tory in the 1990s and well into the second Blair government. Blair was consorting in New York with Wendy remember. I think Spitting Image did more damage to Major though especially after Maastricht and the dalliance with Edwina.

I always loathed Blair but especially when he and Mowlam took the credit with Clinton for the NI agreement when all the groundwork was done by Major. Not that I agreed with the agreement but I especially disagreed with the manner it was done. ;)

I thought a key moment in Major's reign was when Chris Patten (set to be his new Chancellor) didn't get in at the 92 election, so Norman Lamont stayed as Chancellor for an extra year or so. Lamont was blamed for the ERM events, and then became a rebel against Major when he left the government.

Another factor was the premature death of John Smith as Labour leader, as Smith was seen by the media as safe but boring, whereas Blair, 10+ years younger, had a wider appeal nationwide, and made the most of countless Tories crises. See 'Back to Basics'.  Pre-social media, the Currie thing didn't come out for years but it explained a lot about why Major couldn't lead his party, it must have been an open secret in Westminster.

Quoted from ex-merseymariner

I thought a key moment in Major's reign was when Chris Patten (set to be his new Chancellor) didn't get in at the 92 election, so Norman Lamont stayed as Chancellor for an extra year or so. Lamont was blamed for the ERM events, and then became a rebel against Major when he left the government.

Another factor was the premature death of John Smith as Labour leader, as Smith was seen by the media as safe but boring, whereas Blair, 10+ years younger, had a wider appeal nationwide, and made the most of countless Tories crises. See 'Back to Basics'.  Pre-social media, the Currie thing didn't come out for years but it explained a lot about why Major couldn't lead his party, it must have been an open secret in Westminster.

Good point about Smith. good man. His appeal was broad within the party but maybe not so broad in the country.

True about Lamont but I have doubts that any Euro business really meant too much to the average voter. It was too technical and though Labour was just as split but they covered it much better with personalities, slogans and above all some killing skewering by Mandelson and co. during the mid 90s. They made that contrast between the brown envelopes, sleaze and greyness on the one side and the open government, whiter than white and an ethical foreign policy on the other. Truth never entered into it. Within weeks the Bernie Ecclestone charade laid the lies bare but as there was no coherent opposition for the next 10 years or more either in parliament or inside the party Blair had a free run all the way to Iraq. (With a little help from Princess Di. ;))

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

The Murdoch press was very anti-Tory in the 1990s and well into the second Blair government. Blair was consorting in New York with Wendy remember. I think Spitting Image did more damage to Major though especially after Maastricht and the dalliance with Edwina.

I always loathed Blair but especially when he and Mowlam took the credit with Clinton for the NI agreement when all the groundwork was done by Major. Not that I agreed with the agreement but I especially disagreed with the manner it was done. ;)

Have to disagree regarding Northern Ireland. Peace talks were going nowhere under Major, and Thatcher before him. The real turning point was the Warrington bombing, were two little boys died in an IRA attack. It lost the IRA their support in the States and enabled Clinton to help the peace process. The real architect of the peace process was Mo Mowlam, who worked tirelessly to achieve it, even after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. .

Quoted from mimma

Have to disagree regarding Northern Ireland. Peace talks were going nowhere under Major, and Thatcher before him. The real turning point was the Warrington bombing, were two little boys died in an IRA attack. It lost the IRA their support in the States and enabled Clinton to help the peace process. The real architect of the peace process was Mo Mowlam, who worked tirelessly to achieve it, even after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. .

I would not belittle the role of Mowlam though she herself was upset at doing the donkey work only for the big boys to come in at the glory stage.

The IRA ceasefire was first in 1994 after the Downing Street Agreement. Between then and 1998 there was a series of atrocities by the IRA in NI, the U.K. and the Republic. Adams and McGuiness clearly thought they could get a better deal from Labour and were prepared to be patient for the election we all knew Blair would win. They were right. But without the Major initiatives there would have been nothing on the table at all for Clinton and Blair.

The first, tentative, steps towards peace in mainland Britain was through Ken Livingstone whilst he was in charge of the GLC, inviting representatives of the paramilitaries over to London for talks to try and find common ground. Jeremy Corbyn was also involved in these, something that others used to tar him with, unfairly, as an IRA / Terrorist sympathiser during the last General Election.

The Thatcher government simply blanked any dialogue with the IRA, with the BBC having instead to get actors to repeat what was being said on the News. There were many political wrongs during the troubles, but not having meaningful dialogue with the political wing of the IRA was probably the biggest. It could have stopped the troubles, and deaths, much earlier than they did but it didn't suit Thatcher's image.

Re Mo Mowlam..... she worked tirelessly for peace, a fact acknowledged by all sides during the peace process. For Blair to then ditch her and give the glory signing off to his pal Mandelson spoke volumes about him. A horrible man.

Don't think Blair ditched her, she was suffering from cancer, so my personal view is he tried to ease the pressure she was under.

I remember one story about Mo. She had had a hard day and was knackered.  Ian Paisley started with one of his infamous loud rants. She took off her wig, looked him in the eye, and uttered these immortal words;  "intercourse off Ian!!".

She was a truly remarkable lady.

I've made a few mistakes in my time but compare to this lot I'm Mother Theresa  I don't lie to the electorate on daily basis abs disgrace It's bad enough NO football No work But these parasites patting themselves on the back everyday is shocking

Quoted from mimma

Don't think Blair ditched her, she was suffering from cancer, so my personal view is he tried to ease the pressure she was under.

I remember one story about Mo. She had had a hard day and was knackered.  Ian Paisley started with one of his infamous loud rants. She took off her wig, looked him in the eye, and uttered these immortal words;  "intercourse off Ian!!".

She was a truly remarkable lady.

Oh he ditched her alright. The final rounds of negotiations were by Blair, Campbell and Jonathon Powell with Mandelson brought in for the last bits. Blair wanted to get Mowlam out because she was too cosy with the Sinn Fein side. There were several who thought she was OK on the broad principles but had poor grasp of detail and details were all important.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

Oh he ditched her alright. The final rounds of negotiations were by Blair, Campbell and Jonathon Powell with Mandelson brought in for the last bits. Blair wanted to get Mowlam out because she was too cosy with the Sinn Fein side. There were several who thought she was OK on the broad principles but had poor grasp of detail and details were all important.

Or maybe she was just too ill to attend!

It seems you are using this to try to discredit Blair when there is nothing in it.

Quoted from mimma

Or maybe she was just too ill to attend!

It seems you are using this to try to discredit Blair when there is nothing in it.

Not really, I can't discredit him any more than he has himself!

There are several accreditations to the business. This is one from the Guardian about the myths of Mo Mowlam.

A parallel myth is that her(Mowlam's)combined style and conviction drove the grim-faced leaders of Northern Ireland's political parties into signing the Belfast agreement. Yet if you speak to any of the main players engaged in marathon discussions, many of them lasting well into the early hours, at Castle buildings in Stormont, they will tell you Mowlam was a secondary player. Once Blair and his entourage arrived from London, Mowlam and her Northern Ireland office team were swept aside. The prime minister even brought over his own typing pool instead of using Mowlam's staff.

Moreover, it was Blair's own forceful and persuasive personality that cajoled David Trimble, then the leader of mainstream unionism, into signing the Good Friday deal. Privately, Irish government officials have made it clear that without Blair's continued presence towards the end of those historic talks the agreement would never have been established.


This is backed up by John Rentour's book on the Blair years.

Thank you for this information.  I have not seen this before.

The one thing it does tell us is that Blair would get things over the line if he needed to.

Quoted from mimma

Thank you for this information.  I have not seen this before.

The one thing it does tell us is that Blair would get things over the line if he needed to.

You mean like an illegal war?

Quoted from mimma

Thank you for this information.  I have not seen this before.

The one thing it does tell us is that Blair would get things over the line if he needed to.

Yes. Of course what he wanted to get over the line was not always what other people thought should be over the line!

Blair is an opportunist and he would cheerfully take advantage of what anyone else had done and make it look like his own work. Mowlam was not the genius that some have painted her perhaps out of sympathy but she was not a mug and had done some groundwork in NI. The same applies to Major. A lot of the early work for the Good Friday Agreement was done by him, much of the contact being unofficial. In that quote I gave you, the key words I think are "Blair swept in", that was his style.