Back to Basics

Back to Basics attempted to relaunch the government of John Major (pictured)

Back to Basics was an ill-fated attempt to relaunch the government of British Prime Minister John Major in 1993; a year after winning the general election the party's reputation was declining, not least due to the Black Wednesday economic debacle of September 1992.^[1] Announced at the Party Conference of that year, the initiative was intended to focus on issues of law and order, education and public probity (especially single mothers) after the debacle of Black Wednesday had damaged the Conservative Party's perceived ability to safeguard public finance. Back to Basics was widely interpreted as a moral campaign, and hence was ridiculed by political opponents. The campaign also gave the tabloid media the opportunity to expose perceived immoral activities within the Conservatives themselves with a series of articles as perceived hypocritical Tory "sleaze" came to light.

Scandals

• Tim Yeo's extramarital affair resulting in him fathering a "love-child" in 1993^[2]
• The Earl of Caithness resigned after his wife committed suicide due to his extra marital affair.^[1]
• Patrick Nicholls resigned shortly after referring to Germans as "warmongers"
• Stephen Milligan's accidental death by auto-erotic asphyxiation on February 7, 1994^[3]
• Michael Brown's involvement with a then-underage man in 1994,^[4] and his subsequent implication in the Cash-for-questions affair.^[5]
• Neil Hamilton's alleged acceptance of 'cash for Parliamentary questions' from Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1994. ^[6] Tim Smith also admitted taking cash for questions from Al-Fayed.^[7]
• David Ashby discovered to have shared a bed with a man on a trip paid by expenses. Ashby was married at the time.^[8]
• Jonathan Aitken's alleged procurement of prostitutes for Arab businessmen, their payment of his Paris Ritz hotel bill, and his subsequent conviction and prison sentence for perjury after the resulting libel trial in which he unsuccessfully attempted to sue The Guardian over the story.^[9]
• Graham Riddick's entrapment for, and acceptance of, cash for questions in 1994 by The Sunday Times.^[10]
• Allan Stewart resigned after waving an axe at an anti-motorway protester.^[1]
• Hartley Booth's amorous, unreciprocated pursuit of his secretary in 1995.^[11]
• David Willetts's disciplining by the parliamentary ombudsman over his intervention in a parliamentary enquiry in 1996^[12]
• Piers Merchant's affairs with a night club hostess, and his researcher in 1997^[13]
• The "outing" of Conservative MP Jerry Hayes who was revealed to be having an affair with a man who was below what was then the age of consent for homosexual relations.^[14][15]

The phrase has since become used by UK political commentators to describe any failed attempt by a political party leader to relaunch themselves following a scandal or controversy. The phrase was satirized in the Viz strip Baxter Basics.

References

Further reading

• Wintour, Patrick (1993-10-09). "Major goes back to the old values". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,801924,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
• Richard W. Stevenson (1994-01-14). "British Scandals Jeopardizing Party's 'Back to Basics' Effort". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E0DB1031F937A25752C0A962958260. Retrieved 2008-01-03. 

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