George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and John Major: A Tale of Two Relationships

Abstract

Sir John Major has the unfortunate distinction of being largely forgotten. That is not due to his time in office, where he racked up an impressive seven years and an unexpected general election win. Nor is it due to a lack of divisive policy or international disturbance. In that regard, the Major years were alive with activity, from the Gulf war to the genocide in Rwanda, the fallout from the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Yugoslavia plus the ratification of the Maastricht treaty and the Conservative “bastards.” The Major years are largely overlooked simply because they were sandwiched between two political titans. Major, when he is considered within more general studies of British politics, is usually written off as a political continuation of the Thatcher years before the Blair years swept aside a broken and corrupted Conservative Party. However, as so often happens, there has been a renaissance of study on Major and his whole premiership is being revisited and his reputation is perhaps being viewed more positively in the light of twenty-first-century British politics.