First Major ministry

Major Ministry
88th ministry of United Kingdom (since 1707)
1990–1992

Date formed	28 November 1990
Date dissolved	9 April 1992
People and organisations
Head of government	John Major
Head of state	Queen Elizabeth II
Member party	Conservative Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition cabinet	Kinnock Shadow Cabinet
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leader	Neil Kinnock
History
Election(s)	1992 general election
Outgoing election	1992 general election
Predecessor	Third Thatcher ministry
Successor	Second Major ministry

John Major formed the First Major ministry after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to begin a new government following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher 22 November 1990.

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.

The announcement of the Community Charge (often referred to as the Poll Tax) during 1989 and the onset of a recession shortly before Thatcher's resignation had seen Tory support plunge in the opinion polls, most of which were showing a double-digit Labour lead and making it seem likely that Neil Kinnock would be the next Prime Minister.

Conservative MPs elected Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major as their new leader on 27 November 1990, and he was invited by the Queen to form a government the following day.

Fate

The change of leader from Margaret Thatcher to John Major saw a dramatic turnaround in Tory support, with the double-digit Labour lead in the opinion polls being replaced by a narrow Tory one by the turn of 1991. Although a general election did not have to be held until June 1992, Labour leader Neil Kinnock kept pressurising Major to hold an election during 1991, but Major resisted the calls and there was no general election that year.

The recession which began in the autumn of 1990 deepened during 1991, with unemployment standing at nearly 2.5 million by December 1991, compared to 1.6 million just 18 months earlier. Despite this, Tory support in the opinion polls remained relatively strong, with any Labour lead now being by the narrowest of margins, although Labour still made some gains at the expense of the Tories in local elections, and seized the Monmouth seat from the Tories in a by-election.

Major finally called an election for 9 April 1992 which ended the first Major ministry. In a surprise to most pollsters, Major won the election, which led to the formation of the Second Major ministry.

Cabinet

Also attending Cabinet:

Patrick Mayhew – Attorney General
Richard Ryder – Chief Whip

List of Ministers

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name	Dates	Notes
Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	John Major	28 November 1990 – 1 May 1997
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Mackay of Clashfern	continued in office
Lord President of the Council	John MacGregor	continued in office
Lord Privy Seal	The Lord Waddington	28 November 1990
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Norman Lamont	28 November 1990
Chief Secretary to the Treasury	David Mellor	28 November 1990
Minister of State, Treasury	Gillian Shephard	28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	Richard Ryder	28 November 1990
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Francis Maude	continued in office
Lords of the Treasury	Sydney Chapman	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	Greg Knight	continued in office – 27 May 1993
	Irvine Patnick	continued in office – 20 July 1994
	Nicholas Baker	3 December 1990 – 20 July 1994
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	Douglas Hurd	26 October 1989
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	Lynda Chalker	continued in office – 1 May 1997	also Minister of Overseas Development; created Baroness Chalker of Wallasey 24 April 1992
	The Earl of Caithness	continued in office – 15 April 1992
	Tristan Garel-Jones	continued in office – 27 May 1993
	The Hon. Douglas Hogg	continued in office – 5 July 1995
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	The Hon. Mark Lennox-Boyd	continued in office
Minister for Overseas Development	Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey	continued in office	also Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; created Baroness Chalker of Wallasey 24 April 1992
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Kenneth Baker	28 November 1990
Minister of State for Home Affairs	John Patten	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	The Earl Ferrers	continued in office – 20 July 1994
	Angela Rumbold	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs	Peter Lloyd	continued in office – 15 April 1992
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	John Gummer	continued in office
Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	The Baroness Trumpington	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	David Curry	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	David Maclean	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Minister for the Arts	Tim Renton	28 November 1990	Functions transferred on 11 April 1992 to Department of National Heritage
Secretary of State for Defence	Tom King	continued in office
Minister of State for the Armed Forces	The Hon. Archie Hamilton	continued in office
Minister of State for Defence Procurement	Alan Clark	continued in office
Under-Secretary of State for Defence	Kenneth Carlisle	28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Defence	The Earl of Arran	28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992
Secretary of State for Education and Science	Kenneth Clarke	continued in office	Reorganised as Office of Education 10 April 1992
Minister of State, Education and Science	Timothy Eggar	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Education and Science	Alan Howarth	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	Michael Fallon	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	Robert Atkins	28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992	Under-Secretary of State, Sport
Secretary of State for Employment	Michael Howard	continued in office
Under-Secretary of State, Employment	Robert Jackson	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	Eric Forth	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	The Viscount Ullswater	continued in office – 16 September 1993
Secretary of State for Energy	John Wakeham	continued in office	Office abolished 11 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Energy	The Hon. Colin Moynihan	continued in office – 11 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Energy	David Heathcoat-Amory	28 November 1990 – 11 April 1992
Secretary of State for the Environment	Michael Heseltine	28 November 1990
Minister of State for Local Government	Michael Portillo	continued in office
Minister of State for Housing	Sir George Young, Bt	28 November 1990
Minister of State for Environment and Countryside	David Trippier	28 November 1990
Minister of State, Environment	The Baroness Blatch	21 May 1991 – 13 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Environment	The Baroness Blatch	continued in office – 21 May 1991
	Robert Key	continued in office – 15 April 1992
	Tim Yeo	28 November 1990 – 15 April 1992
	Tony Baldry	28 November 1990 – 20 July 1994
Secretary of State for Health	The Hon. William Waldegrave	continued in office
Minister of State, Health	Virginia Bottomley	continued in office
Under-Secretary of State, Health and Social Security	The Baroness Hooper	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Secretary of State for Social Security	Tony Newton	continued in office
Minister of State, Social Security	Nicholas Scott	continued in office – 20 July 1994
Under-Secretary of State, Social Security	Michael Jack	28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Social Security	Ann Widdecombe	30 November 1990 – 27 May 1993
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Chris Patten	28 November 1990
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Peter Brooke	continued in office
Minister of State, Northern Ireland	Brian Mawhinney	28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992
Minister of State, Northern Ireland	The Lord Belstead	28 November 1990 – 14 April 1992	also Paymaster-General
Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland	Richard Needham (The Earl of Kilmorey)	continued in office – 15 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland	Jeremy Hanley	3 December 1990 – 27 May 1993
Paymaster-General	The Lord Belstead	28 November 1990	also Minister of State, Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Scotland	Ian Lang	28 November 1990
Minister of State for Scotland	Michael Forsyth	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	The Lord James Douglas-Hamilton	continued in office – 6 July 1995
	The Lord Strathclyde	continued in office – 14 April 1992
	Allan Stewart	28 November 1990 – 8 February 1995
Minister for Trade	Tim Sainsbury	continued in office
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry	Peter Lilley	continued in office
Minister for Industry	The Lord Hesketh	continued in office
Minister for Industry	vacant	21 May 1991
Minister for Corporate Affairs	John Redwood	continued in office – 13 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry	Edward Leigh	continued in office – 27 May 1993
Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry	The Lord Reay	22 May 1991 – 14 April 1992
Secretary of State for Transport	Malcolm Rifkind	28 November 1990
Minister of State, Transport	The Lord Brabazon of Tara	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Minister for Public Transport	Roger Freeman	28 November 1990 – 20 July 1994
Under-Secretary of State for Transport	Patrick McLoughlin	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Under-Secretary of State for Transport	Christopher Chope	continued in office – 14 April 1992
Secretary of State for Wales	David Hunt	continued in office
Minister of State for Wales	Wyn Roberts	continued in office – 20 July 1994
Under-Secretary of State for Wales	Nicholas Bennett	3 December 1990 – 14 April 1994
Attorney General	Sir Patrick Mayhew	continued in office
Solicitor General	Sir Nicholas Lyell	continued in office
Lord Advocate	The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie	continued in office
Solicitor General for Scotland	Alan Rodger	continued in office	Not an MP
Treasurer of the Household	Alastair Goodlad	continued in office
Comptroller of the Household	David Lightbown	28 November 1990
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	John Mark Taylor	28 November 1990
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Lord Denham	continued in office
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Lord Hesketh	2 May 1991
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Viscount Davidson	continued in office
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Earl of Strathmore	30 December 1991
Lords-in-Waiting	The Lord Reay	continued in office – 21 May 1991
	The Earl of Strathmore	continued in office – 30 December 1991
	The Baroness Blatch	continued in office – 7 September 1990
	The Lord Cavendish of Furness	continued in office – 22 April 1993
	The Viscount Astor	continued in office – 16 September 1993
	The Earl Howe	30 May 1991 – 15 April 1992
	The Baroness Denton	January 1992 – 15 April 1992

References

External links

"British Cabinet and Government Membership". Retrieved 2007-11-20.
"British Government 1979–2005". Retrieved 2007-11-20.

Preceded by Third Thatcher ministry	Government of the United Kingdom 1990–1992	Succeeded by Second Major ministry

John Major

Born: 29 March 1943 (age 73) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1990–1997) Leader of the Conservative Party (1990–1997) Chancellor of the Exchequer (1989–1990) Foreign Secretary (1989) MP for Huntingdon (1979–2001)

Government	First ministry (1990–1992) Second ministry (1992–1997) Gulf War Citizen's Charter Cones Hotline Black Wednesday Maastricht Treaty Downing Street Declaration Child Support Agency Vote of confidence Back to Basics Privatisation of British Rail Cash for Questions Wirral South by-election Resignation Honours

Politics	Conservative Party Huntingdon Shadow Cabinet

General elections	1992 1997

Party elections	1990 1995

Family	Norma Major (wife) Terry Major-Ball (brother) Tom Major-Ball (father)

Wikimedia	Book:John Major Commons Wikibooks Wikidata () Wikinews Wikiquote Wikisource Wiktionary

Major Cabinet

Cabinet Members	Jonathan Aitken Kenneth Baker Virginia Bottomley Peter Brooke Kenneth Clarke Viscount Cranborne Stephen Dorrell Michael Forsyth Roger Freeman John Gummer William Hague Jeremy Hanley Michael Heseltine Douglas Hogg Michael Howard David Hunt Douglas Hurd Tom King Norman Lamont Ian Lang Peter Lilley John MacGregor Lord Mackay John Major Brian Mawhinney Patrick Mayhew David Mellor Tony Newton Chris Patten John Patten Michael Portillo John Redwood Malcolm Rifkind Gillian Shephard Lord Waddington Lord Wakeham William Waldegrave George Young

Also attended meetings	Norman Fowler Alastair Goodlad Richard Ryder

British governments

Great Britain (1707–1801)	Godolphin–Marlborough Harley Townshend Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Walpole–Townshend Walpole Carteret Broad Bottom Short-lived Ministry Newcastle I Pitt–Devonshire 1757 caretaker Newcastle II Bute Grenville Rockingham I Chatham Grafton North Rockingham II Shelburne Fox–North (Portland I) Pitt the Younger I

UK (GB & Ire) (1801–1922)	Addington Pitt the Younger II All the Talents Portland II Perceval Liverpool Canning Goderich Wellington Grey Melbourne I Wellington Caretaker Peel I Melbourne II Peel II Russell I Who? Who? (Derby I) Aberdeen Palmerston I Derby II Palmerston II Russell II Derby III Disraeli I Gladstone I Disraeli II Gladstone II Salisbury I Gladstone III Salisbury II Gladstone IV Rosebery Salisbury III Balfour Campbell-Bannerman Asquith (I·II) Lloyd George

UK (GB & NI) (1922–present)	Bonar Law Baldwin I MacDonald I Baldwin II MacDonald II National Government (I·II·III·IV) Chamberlain War Churchill War Churchill Caretaker Attlee Churchill III Eden Macmillan Douglas-Home Wilson I Heath Wilson II Callaghan Thatcher (I·II·III) Major (I·II) Blair Brown Cameron (I·II) May

Current ministry

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.