Table Of ContentTHE 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