In his erudite and informative account, Chris Green wrote:
You may recall that Margaret Thatcher was thrown out *not* by a vote of the opposition, but by a vote of her own Tory caucus.
This requires some amplification. In 1990 the former Defence Minister Michael Heseltine stood against Margaret Thatcher in a first ballot for the leadership of the Conservative Party, and 'won' by 204 votes to 152. However, under the rules for the contest she needed to win the backing of both an absolute majority of Tory MPs and also win by a margin of at least 15% of the electorate. As her majority was a little short of 14% of the total number of Tory MPs, there would have to be a second ballot. Although Thatcher announced she would be standing in the second ballot, her closest advisors persuaded her that now a substantial number of Tory MPs had openly opposed her, she was unlikely win on a second ballot when other leading Tories would have their names put forward. To avoid the humiliation of a likely defeat, the next morning Thatcher announced her resignation.
Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
