How Major grew tired of living in Thatcher’s shadow
SIR JOHN MAJOR wrote to Baroness Thatcher after he succeeded her as prime minister to say how “fed up” he was of being compared with her and to offer assurances that he was not rejecting her legacy.
Sir John sent a personal note saying that the constant comparison embarrassed him and he feared it was painful for her. The newly released note, written four months after Lady Thatcher was ousted in a leadership challenge, was added to a formal letter explaining why he had scrapped the poll tax.
Sir John had been Lady Thatcher’s chosen successor when he entered Downing Street in November 1990 following her resignation after a revolt by Tory MPS. But within weeks she was apparently unhappy with the direction of her successor and in March 1991, complained in an American television interview that: “I see a tendency to try to undermine what I achieved.”
The letter of March 19, 1991, explains that Sir John felt he had no alternative but to scrap the community charge, which had replaced domestic rates to fund local government.
He said it had proven more difficult than expected to collect and the Government had been unable to persuade voters it was fair. But at the end of the five-page memo, released today at the National Archives in Kew, he added a handwritten message.
He wrote: “May I add a personal note? I am as fed up as you must be with the way the press seize on every issue to try and point up similarities/ dissimilarities between us.
“I find in embarrassing and, more important, you must find it hurtful.”
Sir John ended by saying he would make a speech that Saturday in Southport which he hoped would “put this to rest”. He wrote: “It will set out our clear principles that will carry forward the changes of the last 10 years.” The introduction of the community charge, a flat rate levy on every adult rather than one based on property, had been supposed to make local government funding fairer. But bills rose for many and the tax sparked riots when it was introduced in England in 1990. The tax became a key factor in the Tory unrest that drove Lady Thatcher from power.
Sir John wrote that the community charge had “proved beyond the ability of even well-run authorities to collect the tax in full”.
“The result has been that responsible citizens, overwhelmingly our supporters, are being asked to make good the shortfall from non-payers. As this becomes more and more apparent and the shortfall increases from year to year, resentment is bound to grow: indeed, it is already a tangible issue.”
He told his predecessor the Cabinet had decided to return to linking a new tax, which was to become the council tax, to property values.
Sir John finished by saying that on a recent visit to Moscow, “Mr Gorbachev asked me to give you his very warm regards and say how much he had always enjoyed his talks to you. He hopes very much that you and Denis will pay an early visit to the Soviet Union”.