Editing Geoffrey Howe (section)

=== Resignation ===
Howe tendered his resignation on 1 November 1990. Sometimes mocked as "[[Mogadon]] man"&nbsp;– Mogadon being a well-known sleeping medication&nbsp;– Howe delivered a blow to Thatcher's government in full view of [[Prime Minister's Questions]] and a packed House of Commons on 13 November. Howe later contended that the [[Community Charge]] was incompetently implemented, but it was the direction of European policy rather than domestic rioting that tipped the balance. His dispute with Thatcher was over matters of substance more than ones of style; he advocated a move back towards a more centrist position on constitutional and administrative issues, such as taxation and European integration. Howe represented a moderate position in the party, being educated, lawyerly, and diligent; while direct, he was conciliatory and collegial in style.<ref name="Telegraph obit" />

Howe wrote a cautiously worded letter of resignation in which he criticised the Prime Minister's overall handling of UK relations with the European Community. After largely successful attempts by [[10 Downing Street]] to claim that there were differences only in style, rather than substance, in Howe's disagreement with Thatcher on Europe, Howe chose to send a powerful message of dissent. In his resignation speech in the Commons on 13 November 1990, he attacked Thatcher for running increasingly serious risks for the country's future. He criticised her for undermining the policies on EMU proposed by her chancellor and governor of the Bank of England.<ref>{{cite Hansard |house=House of Commons |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199091/cmhansrd/1990-11-13/Debate-1.html#Debate-1_head1 |access-date=2021-04-26 |title=Personal Statement |date=13 November 1990 |column=461}}</ref>

Howe offered a cricket simile for British negotiations on EMU in Europe: "It's rather like sending our opening batsmen to the crease only for them to find that before the first ball is bowled, their bats have been broken by the team captain."<ref name=cricket>{{cite news |title=Geoffrey Howe's most celebrated quotes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/10/geoffrey-howe-most-celebrated-quotes |access-date=1 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |agency=Press Association |date=10 October 2015}}</ref> The simile was written by his wife, Elspeth, who was an avid cricket fan and had watched Thatcher use a cricket metaphor on the news the night before Howe gave his speech.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrQ4txIX-Q |title=The Speech That Brought Down Margaret Thatcher & Kick-Started Brexit |date=2024-08-30 |publisher=The i Paper |access-date=2025-02-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref> He ended his speech with an appeal to cabinet colleagues: "The time has come for others to consider their own response to the tragic conflict of loyalties, with which I have myself wrestled for perhaps too long."<ref name="Observer">{{cite news |last=Rawnsley |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Rawnsley |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/10/geoffrey-how-the-cabinet-ally-who-became-thatchers-assassin |title=Geoffrey Howe, the close cabinet ally who became Thatcher's assassin |newspaper=The Observer |date=10 October 2015 |access-date=11 March 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330121820/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/10/geoffrey-how-the-cabinet-ally-who-became-thatchers-assassin |url-status=live }}</ref> A few days later, [[Cledwyn Hughes]], the Labour leader in the Lords, said: "I much regretted the departure of Sir Geoffrey Howe from his office and from the Government. Sir Geoffrey was an outstanding member of the Prime Minister's Administration since 1979 and his decision to leave reveals a fatal flaw in the management of our affairs."<ref>{{cite Hansard |speaker=Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos |house=House of Commons |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1990/nov/07/address-in-reply-to-her-majestys-most#column_12 |access-date=2021-04-26 |title=Address in reply to Her Majesty's most gracious Speech |date=7 November 1990 |column=12}}</ref>

Although Howe subsequently wrote in his memoir {{citeref|Howe|1994|''Conflict of Loyalty''|style=plain}} that his intention was only to constrain any shift in European policy by the Cabinet under the existing prime minister, his speech is widely seen as the key catalyst for the leadership challenge mounted by Michael Heseltine a few days later.<ref name="Observer" /> Although Thatcher won the most votes in the [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership election]], she did not win by a large enough margin to win outright. Subsequently, she withdrew from the contest on 22 November.<ref name="1992 elex" /> Five days later, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major was elected party leader and thus became prime minister.<ref name="1992 elex" /> The change proved to be a positive one for the Tories, who had trailed Labour in most opinion polls by a double-digit margin throughout 1990 but soon returned to the top of the polls and won the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|general election in April 1992]].<ref name="1992 elex">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393317.stm|title=1992: Tories win again against odds|work=BBC News|date=5 April 2005|access-date=11 October 2015|archive-date=22 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422045259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393317.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>