Major and the End of Conservative Dominance 1990–1997

John Major's premiership (November 1990–May 1997) has often been overshadowed by the towering figures of Thatcher before him and Blair after. Yet Major's government dealt with genuinely significant events — the Gulf War, the Maastricht Treaty, Black Wednesday, the Northern Ireland peace process — and its ignominious collapse in 1997 reshaped British politics for a generation. Major was a conciliator by temperament in a party that was tearing itself apart over Europe.

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Major's Background and Rise