Page "John Major" Paragraph 42

On 22 June 1995, tired of continual threats of leadership challenges that never arose, Major resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and announced he would contest the resulting leadership election – he continued to serve as Prime Minister while the leadership was vacant, but would have resigned had he not been re-elected by a large enough majority.

John Redwood resigned as Secretary of State for Wales to stand against him.

Major won by 218 votes to Redwood's 89 ( with 12 spoiled ballots, eight ' active ' abstentions and two MPs abstaining ), enough to win in the first round, but only three more than the target he had privately set himself.