Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. In the 1997 election on 1 May 1997, Labour won a 179-seat majority, ending their eighteen years in opposition. He was installed at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on 13 June. "[312] Seldon reiterated these views in his contribution to the 2017 volume John Major: An Unsuccessful Prime Minister? [1] In 1995, Major resigned as party leader, amid internal divisions over UK membership of the European Union, parliamentary scandals (widely known as "sleaze") and questions over his economic credibility. [112][113] He first attracted major national media attention in January 1987 over cold weather payments to the elderly, when Britain was in the depths of a severe winter. [132][133] Major found the prospect daunting, and unsuccessfully attempted to convince Thatcher to allow him to stay on at the Treasury. Alamy and its logo are trademarks of Alamy Ltd. and are registered in certain countries. [246][247], John Major has also been actively engaged in charity work, being President of Asthma UK,[248] and a Patron of the Prostate Cancer Charity, Sightsavers UK, Mercy Ships, Support for Africa 2000[248] and Afghan Heroes. [116][117], Following the 1987 general election, in which Major retained his seat with an increased majority,[118][119] he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, making him the first MP of the 1979 intake to reach the Cabinet. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. [15][16] The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse, with his father's health deteriorating,[nb 2] and the business in severe financial difficulties. Economic growth wasn't re-established until early 1993. [304] In 2012 Oborne had written that Major's government looks ever more successful as time goes by. In 1993, Major sued two magazines, New Statesman and Society and Scallywag, as well as their distributors, for reporting rumours of an affair with Clare Latimer, a Downing Street caterer, even though at least one of the magazines had said that the rumours were false. [356][357] John's sister Patricia Dessoy kept a much lower profile; she died in 2017. Yesterday he told of his fight with the potentially fatal condition, known. [191][177] On 1 November, the pro-European deputy prime minister Geoffrey Howe resigned, issuing a fiercely critical broadside against Thatcher in the House of Commons on 13 November. John Major was born on March 29, 1943, in St Helier, Carshalton, Surrey, London, England. Major was later to learn that the flat was in fact owned by his half-brother Tom Moss. Dame Norma Christina Elizabeth, Lady Major, DBE [1] (ne Wagstaff, formerly Johnson; born 12 February 1942) is an English philanthropist who is the wife of Sir John Major. [250] Major was a Patron of the sight loss and learning disability charity SeeAbility from 2006 to 2012 and has been a vice-president since 2013. The European Currency Unit was a notional unit of account based on a weighted 'basket' of major European currencies. Major left the committee in 2011, citing concerns with the planned redevelopment of Lord's Cricket Ground. . [390], A painting of John Major by Diccon Swan is on display at the Carlton Club, and was unveiled by his wife Norma in 1994.