Major ministry

John Major, who formed the Major ministry, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 6½ years from 28 November 1990 to 2 May 1997. He was first appointed Prime Minister having succeeded Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party. He then led the Conservatives to victory in the April 1992 general election, but failed to secure the 1997 general election, as the Conservatives suffered their worst general election result of the 20th century and their place in government was taken by Labour, led by Tony Blair, after 18 years and four successive parliamentary terms of Conservative government.

Formation

The resignation of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister came on 22 November 1990, more than 11 years after she had first been elected. She had won three consecutive general elections, been voted into power by more than 12,000,000 people, but had to step down because she couldn't count on the support of her own MPs. Former Cabinet Minister Michael Heseltine had challenged her leadership earlier in the November and although she fared better than him in the leadership contest, she was unable to gain an outright win and handed in her resignation, paving the way for a new Conservative leader more likely to win the next general election which was due within 18 months.