ABSTRACT
On Thursday, 9 April 1992, the Conservative Party, led by John Major, won an unexpected victory in the British General Election, an election in which the conflict in Northern Ireland played a relatively small part. During the previous parliament (1987-92) the bipartisan policy on Northern Ireland between the government and the Labour opposition had been largely maintained, and while the substantial problems of insurgency and civil unrest in the province had been very much a part of the British political scene, the situation in Northern Ireland was not an election issue as such.1
