He talked about a ‘classless’ society and aimed to ameliorate the social damage caused by Thatcherism, whilst maintaining the economic achievements of the 1980s.

As a politician, Major was less strident and more businesslike than his predecessor. Major was polite, amiable, and mild-mannered. He was nicknamed ‘the grey man’ and it was a reputation that he never shook off.

During his first ministry, Major looked to measures that might help to end the severe recession that affected the country. At first, the indicators were bad – unemployment rose to 2.5 million and inflation reached 15%.

Meanwhile, Major had to negotiate the Maastricht Treaty. The treaty was aimed at binding the European Community into the European Union, following the reunification of Germany in 1990. Major was able to secure opt outs on social policy and the European Single Currency.  Initially, the press was filled with praise, and the Conservative Party was united, Major described it as ‘the modern equivalent of a Roman triumph’.

In 1991, Major unveiled the Citizen’s Charter. This was an initiative to improve public services by providing the public with more choice and information. Major abolished the ‘Poll Tax’ that had played a large role in the undoing of his predecessor. It was replaced by the Council Tax system from 1993.

Two months after Major became Prime Minister, Operation Desert Storm commenced. This was the American-led military operation to defeat Iraq’s conquest of Kuwait the previous August. For five weeks, allied air forces bombed Iraq, before ground units advanced. Kuwait was swiftly liberated, with little loss to the allied armies.

Few expected Major to win the 1992 election, and the opinion polls suggested that a hung parliament would be the most likely outcome. Major took to the streets, standing on a soap box, making the case directly to voters. This contrasted with his opponent, Neil Kinnock, whose public appearances were much more stage managed. Meanwhile, a ruthless Conservative campaign focused on the tax rises that might accompany a Labour government. On polling day, Major’s Conservatives won an unexpected majority of 21.

In September 1992, Britain exited the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Major himself had been the Chancellor who took Britain into the ERM, but the pound was overvalued. Germany would not revalue the Deutschemark, despite British requests. Major repeatedly denied that Britain would devalue or realign the pound or leave the ERM. Then, on Wednesday 16 September 1992, there was a financial crisis. Interest rates were raised repeatedly until they hit 15% and billions of pounds were spent shoring up the pound’s value. By the end of the day, the Chancellor Norman Lamont announced that Britain would be leaving the ERM. It became known as ‘Black Wednesday’, and the economic credibility of the Conservatives was badly damaged. Labour took an opinion poll lead that they never lost.

In May 1993, Chancellor Norman Lamont resigned from the government. Major had offered him another role, but he had declined and left. Lamont gave a resignation speech in which he described the government as ” being in office but not in power”.

Nevertheless, by 1993, the economy was recovering. Lamont’s successor, Kenneth Clarke proved an effective Chancellor. By 1997, unemployment, government borrowing, and interest rates had all fallen. The economy would continue to show robust growth until the 2008 financial crisis.

However, politically, Major’s government struggled. The Maastricht rebels ensured that it was difficult to pass legislation, and the Conservative Party was deeply divided over Europe. In 1993, Major would defeat a Vote of No Confidence in the House of Commons. In 1995, Major resigned as leader of the Conservative Party on 22 June, asking the Party to ‘put up or shut up’. The Eurosceptic John Redwood stood against him. But, ultimately, Major triumphed, winning the votes of 218 MPs to 89.

In late 1993, Major tried to regain the political initiative with his ‘Back to Basics’ campaign, which was supposed to promote traditional values and social conservatism. However, a string of sex and ‘sleaze’ scandals involving Conservatives followed, with the press making mockery of Major’s campaign.

Northern Ireland would take up a great deal of Major’s time. The IRA had attempted to assassinate him with a mortar bombing attack on Downing Street in February 1991. The windows of the Cabinet Room were damaged and the ministers briefly hid beneath the table, before Major remarked ‘I think we’d better start again somewhere else’. After that, there was much patient diplomacy with Irish counterpart Albert Reynolds, and the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 helped to set the stage for later breakthroughs.

A difficult crisis began in 1991 as Yugoslavia broke up. Major committed British troops to the region as peacekeepers. In 1995, he backed NATO intervention in the Bosnian conflict which finally ended the war.

Major formed a strong partnership with US President George H. W. Bush, and the two men were temperamentally quite similar. The relationship with the next President, Bill Clinton was less strong, though they worked together on the Bosnian crisis and Northern Irish Peace Process.

When the election finally came in May 1997, Major’s Conservative were heavily defeated. They lost 178 seats and were left with only 165. It was the worst result for the Conservatives since the beginning of the 20th Century.

After leaving power, Major was briefly Leader of the Opposition. After that, his interventions in public life tended to be rare, though he has attracted controversy over his criticisms of Brexit since 2016.