February 1991. In the two months since his election as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major had already left his mark on the British political scene. His government had formed a coalition with the United States to defend Kuwait from Iraqi invasion, and had entered the Gulf War upon the initiation of Operation Desert Storm on 17th January. His party had moved ahead of Neil Kinnock’s Labour Party for the first time in months, and Major had every reason to celebrate.
However, this did not leave his government without its criticisms. A growing recession in Britain had led to unemployment rising to its highest levels since 1981. The government’s reaction to this had been to refuse any cut of interest rates, leading to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Norman Lamont, coming in for extra criticism. And perhaps above all else, the European question had been ignored due to the departure of Margaret Thatcher over her EEC stance, much to the chagrin of Eurosceptic backbenchers. All was not well in Toryland.
However, events in the month of February would lead to a change of fortunes for the Conservative Party. In particular, an event occurred, so catastrophic, it was described as
“the greatest threat to British democracy since the Second World War.” The face of British politics changed forever.
However, an errant mortar could’ve seen another path taken entirely. For now though, let us look back at the last 27 years in British history, in the knowledge that…
A STORM WAS BREWING
A Late 20th - Early 21st Century British Political History