LONDON, July 4 -- British Prime Minister John Major won a party leadership election to retain his office Tuesday with the support of two-thirds of the Conservative members of Parliament. Major's challenger, right-wing former Cabinet member John Redwood, conceded defeat and warmly congratulated the prime minister. The prime minister got the votes of 218 of the 329 Conservative members of the House of Commons, with 89 voting for Redwood and eight abstaining. Twelve ballots were declared spoiled and two MPs did not vote. Major forced the leadership battle in a risky attempt to unify his governing party behind him after months of divisions over European policy. Redwood had the support of much of the right wing of the party and so-called 'Euro-skeptics' who oppose a single currency and closer integration with Europe. Major's supporters and some of his opponents said after the leadership election the party would attempt to pull together behind the prime minister to defeat the opposition Labour Party at the next general election, which must be called by early 1997. 'It's an outstanding result. It puts the whole matter to rest,' said Agriculture Secretary William Waldegrave. Redmond said Major won 'fair and square' and said by running he felt he had raised crucial issues for the party. Major spent the day Tuesday meeting with supporters in his Cabinet, and was expected to announce a reshuffle of government ministers shortly after the leadership election. Sir Marcus Fox, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative members of Parliament that ran the election, announced the result and declared Major the winner at the House of Commons after a day of secret balloting.
Major obtained well over the minimum required to win the election, which called for a simple majority of the vote and a 15 percent margin of victory over the challenger. The Cabinet backed Major publicly in the first round of voting, but the mixed feelings among Conservatives was demonstrated by the comment of one minister, Transport Minister Steven Norris, who told the BBC, 'In the circumstances I voted for John Major because I think he's by far the least worst option available to us.' If neither candidate had won by a clear margin in the first round, the battle had been expected to be joined by two Cabinet heavyweights, the right-wing Employment Secretary Michael Portillo and moderate Trade and Industry Secretary Michael Heseltine. Both supported Major in the first round. Heseltine spent more than an hour at the prime minister's office at No. 10 Downing Street Tuesday morning, but made no comment to waiting reporters. The leadership election was forced by Major when he submitted his resignation as party leader June 22 in a gamble to force the Tories to 'put up or shut up' -- to replace him or unite behind him after months of disputes with the right wing of the party over European policy. Redwood was a relatively young and unknown right-wing politician, who until he resigned to run for the top job was Welsh Secretary in Major's Cabinet. He was head of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policy unit in the early 1980s and is considered a Thatcher protege. Conservative members of Parliament said Major's victory would allow the party to unite behind him, but the 12-day leadership campaign exposed rather than narrowed the divisions in the Conservative Party. Those divisions are especially evident over British policy regarding the European Union. Redwood made Europe a key part of his campaign, and attracted the so-called Euro-skeptics of the party with his pledge to keep Britain outside a single European currency and claw back power from Brussels. Redwood said before voting began Tuesday he was helping the prime minister to clear the air by addressing the big issues and telling MPs 'if you want change you have to vote for me.' Redwood had promised not to allow Britain to join a European currency while he is prime minister. Major has said he will consider the economic situation and other factors when the time comes to make a decision. Britain's conservative newspapers came out almost solidly Tuesday against Major, with both broadsheets and tabloids urging Tory MPs to drop the prime minister and force a second ballot. The Daily Mail's front-page headline, 'Time to ditch the captain' and its picture of a sinking 'Torytanic,' captured the anti-Major feeling echoed in other conservative-supporting papers including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. 'The reality is that if Major stays as prime minister, the Tories would be heading for their most catastrophic defeat since 1906,' the Daily Mail said.
'Now we can concentrate on the real enemy -- socialism,' said former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was replaced by Major after a 1990 leadership challenge. Thatcher is popular on the right wing of the party, and had given only lukewarm support to Major before Tuesday's election and expressed admiration for Redwood as one of her Conservative proteges. The Cabinet backed Major publicly in the first round of voting, but the mixed feelings among Conservatives were demonstrated by one minister, Transport Minister Steven Norris, who told the BBC, 'In the circumstances I voted for John Major because I think he's by far the least worst option available to us.' If neither candidate had won by a clear margin in the first round, the battle would likely have been joined by two Cabinet heavyweights, the right-wing Employment Secretary Michael Portillo and moderate Trade and Industry Secretary Michael Heseltine. Both supported Major in the first round. The leadership election was forced by Major when he submitted his resignation as party leader June 22 in a gamble to force the Tories to 'put up or shut up' -- to replace him or unite behind him after months of disputes with the right wing of the party over European policy. Redwood was a relatively young and unknown right-wing politician, who until he resigned to run for the top job was Welsh Secretary in Major's Cabinet. He was head of Thatcher's policy unit in the early 1980s. Conservative members of Parliament said Major's victory would allow the party to unite behind him, but the 12-day leadership campaign exposed rather than narrowed the divisions in the organization. Those divisions are especially evident over British policy regarding the European Union. Redwood made Europe a key part of his campaign, and attracted the so-called Euro-skeptics of the party with his pledge to keep Britain outside a single European currency and claw back power from Brussels. Major has said he will consider the economic situation and other factors when the time comes to make a decision on a single currency. Redwood said before voting began Tuesday he was helping the prime minister to clear the air by addressing the big issues and telling MPs 'if you want change you have to vote for me.' Britain's conservative newspapers came out almost solidly Tuesday against Major, with both broadsheets and tabloids urging Tory MPs to drop the prime minister and force a second ballot. The Daily Mail's front-page headline, 'Time to ditch the captain,' and its picture of a sinking 'Torytanic' captured the anti-Major feeling echoed in other Conservative-supporting papers, including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. 'The reality is that if Major stays as prime minister, the Tories would be heading for their most catastrophic defeat since 1906,' the Daily Mail said. cda-mjc-emki
Major spent the day Tuesday meeting with supporters in his Cabinet, and was expected to announce a reshuffle of government ministers shortly after the leadership election. Sir Marcus Fox, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative members of Parliament that ran the election, announced the result and declared Major the winner at the House of Commons after a day of secret balloting. Major obtained well over the minimum required to win the election, which called for a simple majority of the vote and a 15 percent margin of victory over the challenger. The Cabinet backed Major publicly in the first round of voting, but the mixed feelings among Conservatives was demonstrated by the comment of one minister, Transport Minister Steven Norris, who told the BBC, 'In the circumstances I voted for John Major because I think he's by far the least worst option available to us.' If neither candidate had won by a clear margin in the first round, the battle had been expected to be joined by two Cabinet heavyweights, the right-wing Employment Secretary Michael Portillo and moderate Trade and Industry Secretary Michael Heseltine. Both supported Major in the first round. more
Heseltine spent more than an hour at the prime minister's office at No. 10 Downing Street Tuesday morning, but made no comment to waiting reporters. The leadership election was forced by Major when he submitted his resignation as party leader June 22 in a gamble to force the Tories to 'put up or shut up' -- to replace him or unite behind him after months of disputes with the right wing of the party over European policy. Redwood was a relatively young and unknown right-wing politician, who until he resigned to run for the top job was Welsh Secretary in Major's Cabinet. He was head of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policy unit in the early 1980s and is considered a Thatcher protege. Conservative members of Parliament said Major's victory would allow the party to unite behind him, but the 12-day leadership campaign exposed rather than narrowed the divisions in the Conservative Party. Those divisions are especially evident over British policy regarding the European Union. Redwood made Europe a key part of his campaign, and attracted the so-called Euro-skeptics of the party with his pledge to keep Britain outside a single European currency and claw back power from Brussels. Redwood said before voting began Tuesday he was helping the prime minister to clear the air by addressing the big issues and telling MPs 'if you want change you have to vote for me.' Redwood had promised not to allow Britain to join a European currency while he is prime minister. Major has said he will consider the economic situation and other factors when the time comes to make a decision. Britain's conservative newspapers came out almost solidly Tuesday against Major, with both broadsheets and tabloids urging Tory MPs to drop the primeminister and force a second ballot. The Daily Mail's front-page headline, 'Time to ditch the captain' and its picture of a sinking 'Torytanic,' captured the anti-Major feeling echoed in other conservative-supporting papers including The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. 'The reality is that if Major stays as prime minister, the Tories would be heading for their most catastrophic defeat since 1906,' the Daily Mail said. cda-mjc-emki
