1989 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election 1989 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election The 1989 Conservative Party leadership election took place on 5 December 1989. The incumbent Margaret Thatcher was opposed by the little-known 69-year-old backbencher MP Sir Anthony Meyer. It was the Conservative Party's first leadership election for nearly 15 years, when Thatcher had taken the party leadership. During 1989 the Conservative government led by Thatcher had run into difficulties. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, had resigned in October over Thatcher's determination to follow the advice of her advisers, specifically Sir Alan Walters. In June Labour won their first national electoral victory since 1974
1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election The 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 11, 1983 in Ottawa, Ontario to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC Party). At the convention, Brian Mulroney was elected leader on the fourth ballot, defeating former Prime Minister Joe Clark. Joe Clark had been leader of the PCs after winning the 1976 leadership convention. While Clark was credited with uniting the PCs after the difficult years under the leadership of Robert Stanfield and leading the party to victory in the 1979 federal election, the opposition defeated his government over