Alfred Milner vs John Major

Milner was appointed High Commissioner for South Africa and Governor of the Cape Colony. His aggressive policies toward the Boer republics, including demands for voting rights for British expatriates, escalated tensions leading to the Second Boer War.

Milner assembled a group of young British administrators, known as the 'Milner Kindergarten,' to reconstruct South Africa after the Boer War. They implemented policies promoting British immigration and economic development, influencing the Union of South Africa's formation.

Milner was a key British negotiator in the treaty that ended the Second Boer War. The treaty annexed the Boer republics into the British Empire but granted them self-government later, shaping South Africa's future union.

Major negotiated the Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union and established the euro currency. He secured opt-outs for the UK from the single currency and social chapter, a major achievement in European integration.

The UK was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after a speculative attack. The government spent billions trying to defend the currency, a major economic and political failure for Major's government.

Major led the Conservative Party to an unexpected victory in the 1992 general election, winning a majority of 21 seats. This was the Conservatives' fourth consecutive election win, despite predictions of a hung parliament.

Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds signed the Downing Street Declaration, a joint peace initiative for Northern Ireland. The declaration affirmed the principle of consent and opened the way for peace negotiations.

Major resigned as prime minister after the Conservative Party suffered a landslide defeat in the 1997 general election to Tony Blair's Labour Party. The defeat ended 18 years of Conservative government.