Abstract

On November 22 1990, Margaret Thatcher publicly stated that she would stand down as prime minister. Her decision ended an extraordinary era in British politics that lasted more than eleven years. Interestingly, Thatcher made her announcement shortly after she had vowed to “fight on and fight to win” in her speech following the first round of leadership elections. In the eyes of many Conservatives she had become a political liability to their party’s fortune. Therefore, she was persuaded not to go forward to the second ballot. Thatcher’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Major, was chosen as her immediate successor. In 1992, despite considerable public disfavor over the poll tax, European integration, and the state of the economy he scored a comfortable victory over the Labor party, and kept the Conservatives in office until the 1997 elections.