The Major Premiership: Politics and Policies under John Major, 1990–97

293 Pages·1999·32.091 MB·English

by  Peter Dorey (eds.)

THE MAJOR PREMIERSHIP
Also by Peter Dorey
BRITISH POLITICS SINCE 1945
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY AND THE TRADE UNIONS
The Major Premiership
Politics and Policies under John Major,
1990-97
Edited by
Peter Dorey
Lecturer in Politics
Cardiff University
pal grave
macmillan
* First published in Great Britain 1999 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-27609-7 ISBN 978-1-349-27607-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-27607-3
First published in the United States of America 1999 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-21839-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Major premiership: politics and policies under John Major,
1990-97 / edited by Peter Dorey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-21839-3 (cloth)
1. Major, John Roy, 1943- . 2. Great Britain-Politics and
govemment-1979-1997. 3. Conservative Party (Great Britain)
I. Dorey, Peter. 1959- .
DA591.M33M34 1999
941.085'9'092-dc21 98-38458
CIP
Selection, editorial matter, Introduction and chapters 8. 10 and 12 © Peter Dorey 1999
Chapters 1-7,9 and II © Macmillan Press Ltd 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 978-0-333-73681-4
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
To Geoff & Audrey
with love
Contents
List of Tables and Figure ix
Notes on the Contributors X
Introduction: John Major- 'One of Us'? xiii
1 Chaos or Cohesion? Major and the Parliamentary
Conservative Party
Philip Cowley 1
2 A Permanent Revolution in Whitehall: the Major
Governments and the Civil Service
Kevin Theakston 26
3 Centralisation and Fragmentation: John Major and
the Reform of Local Government
John Kingdom 45
4 Renewed Consultation or Continued Exclusion?
Organised Interests and the Major Governments
Rob Baggott and Victoria McGregor-Riley 68
5 Strategic Errors and/or Structural Binds?
Major and European Integration
Daniel Wincott, Jim Buller and Colin Hay 87
6 Renewed Hope for Peace? John Major and
Northern Ireland
Christopher Norton 108
7 Devout Defender of the Union: John Major and
Devolution
J. Barry Jones 126
8 The 3 Rs - Reform, Reproach and Rancour:
Education Policies under John Major
Peter Dorey 146
9 Rolling Back the (Welfare) State: the Major
Governments and Social Security Reform
Michael Hill 165
Vll
Vlll Contents
10 No Return to 'Beer and Sandwiches': Industrial
Relations and Employment Policies under John Major
Peter Dorey 179
11 The Limits of Likeability: the Major Premiership
and Public Opinion
David Broughton 199
12 Despair and Disillusion Abound: the Major
Premiership in Perspective
Peter Dorey 218
Chronology of John Major's Premiership 250
Bibliography 255
Index 269
List of Tables and Figure
Tables
1.1 Ideological support in the 1990 leadership election 3
1.2 Conservative cohesion during the Maastricht
rebellions 10
1.3 Backbench attitudes to European integration 13
1.4 Elections and defections, 1990-97 15
1.5 Dissent by government backbenchers, 1945-97 19
1.6 Size of rebellions, 1992-97 20
1.7 Number of dissenting votes cast by rebellious
government MPs, 1992-97 21
4.1 Green Papers and Consultative Documents under
the Major government 76
4.2 Green Papers and Consultative Documents,
1976-96 77
10.1 Average hours worked per week by full-time
employees in EU member states, 1996 194
10.2 Employees' views about what ought to be the
primary objective of trade unions, 1989 and 1996 196
11.1 John Major's public image 205
11.2 Margaret Thatcher's public image 206
11.3 The best party to handle economic problems (poll) 211
11.4 The best party to handle problems (poll) 212
12.1 Class and voting in the 1997 election (and 1992
figures) 241
12.2 Vote by region in 1997 (and change since 1992) 242
12.3 Voter's expectations in the 1997 election 245
12.4 Issue saliency in the 1997 election 245
Figure
4.1 Consultation periods under Thatcher and Major 78
lX
Notes on the Contributors
Rob Baggott is Reader in Public Policy at De Montfort University,
Leicester. He is the author of Pressure Groups Today (1998) and
Health and Health Care in Britain (2nd edition, 1998). He has also
published articles in Public Administration, Parliamentary Affairs, Policy
and Politics, Journal of Social Policy, and Talking Politics.
Jim Buller is a Lecturer in Politics in the Department of Political
Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.
He is the author of National Statecraft and European Integration:
the Conservative Governments 1979-97 (1998), and has also written
a number of articles and chapters on British foreign policy and on
Britain's relations with the European Union.
David Broughton is Lecturer in Politics in the School of European
Studies at Cardiff University. He is the author of Public Opinion
Polling and Politics in Britain (1995), and was co-editor of the annual
British Elections and Parties Yearbook from 1991 to 1996 inclusive.
Philip Cowley is a Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the
University of Hull, and Research Secretary of the Centre for Legis
lative Studies. He is editor of Conscience and Parliament (1998),
and co-editor of the annual British Elections and Parties Review, as
well as the author of articles in a range of journals, including the
British Journal of Political Science, Political Studies, Party Politics,
and the Journal of Legislative Studies.
Peter Dorey is Lecturer in Politics in the School of European Studies
at Cardiff University. He is the author of British Politics since 1945
(1995), The Conservative Party and the Trade Unions (1995), and
various articles and chapters on Conservative politics in Britain.
He has recently completed a rp.onograph, The Politics of Pay: Govern
ments and Wage Determination in Post-War Britain (forthcoming),
and is currently writing The Labour Party and Constitutional Reform.
Colin Hay is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science
and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, and
X