July 1995 - John Major leaves for Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation
Finding himself increasingly under siege on his own party due to the ongoing debates over Europe and attacks on his own leadership, John Major decided to preempt a leadership challenge by those who he described as the "bastards" (the Eurosceptics on his cabinet), resigning as Conservative Leader only to stand in a leadership election in June-July 1995. Several would-be challengers declined to stand against Major (particularly Employment Secretary Michael Portillo, seen as the most dangerous one), leaving the task to the Welsh Secretary, John Redwood.
Running on a firmly Thatcherite, Eurosceptic and social conservative platform Redwood was derided in the media and by Major supporters as too right-wing to lead the party. And yet, Redwood was able to garner the support of several MP's desperate to get rid of Major before facing electoral oblivion in 1997, which combined to a few abstentions pushed Major down to 211 votes to Redwood's 94 and 10 abstentions. Having set a personal target of 215 votes as a minimum target, Major had finally had enough, announcing his immediate resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party a few hours after the result. He'd been Prime Minister for almost five years.
With many in the party sighing with relief at Major's departure (seeing him as an electoral liability), nominations were open as new candidates geared for a second ballot the week after Major's resignation. Facing Redwood, who refused to drop his leadership bid, will be heavyweights Michael Portillo and Michael Heseltine, and darkhorse Gillian Shephard.
The Candidates:
John Redwood: John Major's assassin and now the former Welsh Secretary, Redwood is seen as one of the intellectual giants of the Eurosceptic win, if tarnished by a series of gaffes (such as trying to mime the Welsh anthem as minister) and by his association to the most right-wing MP's in the party. Mocked as "the vulcan" for his looks, Redwood marches on his staunch Social Conservative, Law and Order and Eurosceptic campaign, defending the idea that a sharp turn to the right is the way to win in the next General Election.
Michael Portillo: The young darling of the Thatcherites and the Employment Secretary, Portillo stands as the standard bearer of the more traditional Thatcherites, advocating for a course of "clear blue water" (insisting that the Conservatives must adopt policies as far away as possible as Labour) and standing up for a modernizing Eurosceptic economically liberal and social conservative platform. Much liked by the party base, Portillo is also notoriously disliked across the country, being seen (among other things) as being enormously arrogant. He also benefits from a strong endorsement by Margaret Thatcher.
Michael Heseltine: The original assassin of Margaret Thatcher and now President of the Board of Trade (and a more elder statesman), Heseltine is a character by himself (nicknamed "Tarzan" due to his blonde mane and his attitude), running again for leader as the sole Europhile candidate (the also Europhile Chancellor Ken Clarke backing him) on a pro-Europe, One Nation, more economically conservative platform. Seen as the most likely to improve the poor polling performance of the Conservatives, Heseltine is also disliked by the Thatcherites, and has already suffered a heart attack two years ago.
Gillian Shephard: The final candidate and the one seen as a darkhorse, Shephard is the Education Secretary and a John Major loyalist, having supporter him since 1990. A tough, no-nonsense candidate of more moderate instincts, Shephard hopes to run a middle course between Eurosceptics and Europhiles as a unity candidate to prevent the party from facing further divisions with less than two years left until the next election.
You have two days to vote, the two candidates with the most votes go to a final round if no one garners a majority on this ballot.