Page "John Major" Paragraph 31

At the 1993 Conservative Party Conference, Major began the " Back to Basics " campaign, which he intended to be about the economy, education, policing, and other such issues, but it was interpreted by many ( including Conservative cabinet ministers ) as an attempt to revert to the moral and family values that the Conservative Party were often associated with.

" Back to Basics ", however, became synonymous with scandal, often exposed in lurid and embarrassing detail by tabloid newspapers such as The Sun.

In 1992 David Mellor, a cabinet minister, had been exposed as having an extramarital affair, and for accepting hospitality from the daughter of a leading member of the PLO.

The wife of the Earl of Caithness committed suicide amongst rumours of the Earl committing adultery.

Stephen Milligan was found dead having apparently auto-asphyxiated whilst performing a solitary sex act ( his Eastleigh seat was lost in what was to be an ongoing stream of hefty by-election defeats ).

David Ashby was ' outed ' by his wife after sleeping with men.

A string of other Conservative MPs, including Alan Amos, Tim Yeo and Michael Brown, were involved in sexual scandals.