1975 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election cabinet members pledged their support for Heath including Jim Prior, Peter Carrington, Leader in the House of Lords, and Robert Carr, Shadow Chancellor. However Margaret Thatcher opted to stand, with Airey Neave as her campaign manager, as did backbencher Hugh Fraser. Even then many believed that Heath would win easily. Thatcher's support was seen as minimal, with all the Conservative daily newspapers backing Heath (although the weekly "The Spectator" backed Thatcher). As the election went on it became clear that the race was going to be much closer, as Thatcher became the clear candidate to be supported by discontented backbenchers.
1990 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election was John Major, little known to the public hitherto, who had briefly been promoted to succeed Howe as Foreign Secretary in July before succeeding Lawson as Chancellor in October, putting him in pole position to succeed Thatcher. In December 1989, Thatcher was challenged for the leadership for the first time since her election to that position in 1975, by the little known 69-year-old backbench MP Sir Anthony Meyer. Thatcher faced no serious threat of losing to this stalking horse challenger, but her political credibility was undermined by the fact that 60 members of the parliamentary Conservative party had not supported