ABSTRACT
Major was Prime Minister for seven years in difficult circumstances. He struggled to maintain a parliamentary majority after 1992 and was faced with intense factionalism within the Conservative Party, which forced him to declare a Conservative leadership contest in 1995. Given the situations he faced, it was a remarkable feat to last so long. It is even more remarkable when one reflects, from the vantage point of 2002, how far the Conservative Party has gone along the road of being unelectable ever since Majors departure.
