118-683: The National Lottery Heritage Fund , formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund ( HLF ), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. The fund's predecessor bodies were the National Land Fund , established in 1946, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund , established in 1980. The current body was established as the "Heritage Lottery Fund" in 1994. It
236-633: A leadership bid by Anthony Meyer ; though she won easily, 60 MPs had not voted for her, and it was rumoured that many more had had to be strong-armed into supporting her. By early 1990, it was clear that bills for many under the new poll tax regime would be higher than anticipated, and opposition to the Tax grew, with a non-payment campaign gaining much support and an anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square in March ending in rioting . The Conservatives lost
354-453: A 'budget for savers', with the creations of the tax-exempt special savings account (TESSA), arguing that measures were required to address the marked fall in the household savings ratio that had been apparent during the previous financial year . Major also abolished the composite rate tax and stamp duty on share trades, whilst increasing taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol. Tax cuts were also made which benefited football associations,
472-571: A 'favourite' of Thatcher's and he was widely tipped for further promotion. Nevertheless, Major's appointment to Foreign Secretary in July 1989 came as a surprise due to his relative lack of experience in the Cabinet and unfamiliarity with international affairs. Major found the prospect daunting, and unsuccessfully attempted to convince Thatcher to allow him to stay on at the Treasury. There were also fears within
590-602: A Conservative party event in Brixton in April 1970, and the two became engaged shortly thereafter, marrying at St Matthew's Church in Brixton on 3 October 1970. John's mother died shortly before in September at the age of 65. John and Norma moved into a flat at Primrose Court, Streatham , which John had bought in 1969, and had their first child, Elizabeth, in November 1971. In 1974
708-572: A Foreign Office minister on a trip to South America, visiting Colombia , Peru and Venezuela . In September 1985, Major was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS), before being promoted to become Minister of State in the same department in September 1986. The large size of the DHSS granted Ministers a greater degree of responsibility than in other departments, with Major assisting with work on
826-552: A Labour stronghold, the Conservatives received a huge boost following Enoch Powell 's anti-immigration ' Rivers of Blood speech ' in April 1968 and Major won, despite strongly disapproving of Powell's views. Major took a major interest in housing matters, with Lambeth notorious for overcrowding and poor-quality rented accommodation. In February 1970 Major became Chairman of the Housing Committee, being responsible for overseeing
944-546: A Monday Lotto draw that enters your ticket into their two draws each Monday, another one-off bonus jackpot-only draw for Lotto, known as the Lotto Monday Spoiler Draw was once again introduced by Camelot. The jackpot for this bonus draw was £5,000,000. These bonus draws were included in the main Lotto game and gave players another chance at winning the jackpot on their Lotto ticket, using the same six numbers entered into
1062-433: A candidate for a more promising seat, and despite numerous attempts was unsuccessful until December 1976. Growing increasingly frustrated, Major resolved to make one last attempt, applying for selection to the safe Conservative seat of Huntingdonshire and finally he succeeded. Major was in some ways an odd choice, being a born-and-bred Londoner in a largely rural constituency still home to many landed families; however, he
1180-432: A difficult one, with his mother suffering from pleurisy and pneumonia and John requiring several blood transfusions due to an infection, causing permanent scarring to his ankles. The Major family—including John, his parents, and his two older siblings Terry and Pat) —lived at 260 Longfellow Road, Worcester Park , Surrey, a middle-class area where Major's father ran a garden ornaments business and his mother worked in
1298-409: A divorcée 13 years his elder with two children who lived opposite the family on Burton Road, who became his mentor and lover. Seldon writes "She ... made Major smarten his appearance, groomed him politically, and made him more ambitious and worldly." Major later moved in with Kierans when his family left Burton Road in 1965; their relationship lasted from 1963 to sometime after 1968. Major left
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#17328380366001416-726: A fact-finding trip to the Middle East in April 1982. The group met with King Hussein of Jordan and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in Lebanon; in Israel they were briefly caught in the middle of a shooting incident between Israeli troops and a Palestinian rock-thrower. Major later became an assistant whip in January 1983, responsible for East Anglian MPs. During this period Major became also involved in
1534-560: A fiercely critical broadside against Thatcher in the House of Commons on 13 November. The day after Howe's speech Michael Heseltine , Thatcher's former Secretary of State for Defence who had acrimoniously resigned in 1986 over the Westland affair , challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Both John Major and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd supported Thatcher in
1652-583: A high turnout, the Conservatives earned over 14 million votes which remains a record in any UK general election. This was the Conservatives' fourth consecutive election victory. Neil Kinnock was replaced by John Smith as Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition in 1992. On 16 September 1992, the pound sterling crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after the Chancellor of
1770-508: A landslide in the 1997 general election , ending 18 years of Conservative government. After Blair became prime minister, Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the leadership election to replace him took place. He formed a temporary shadow cabinet , and Major himself was shadow foreign secretary and shadow secretary of state for defence . His resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect in June 1997 following
1888-606: A local church fair and was invited to watch his first debate in the House of Commons , where Harold Macmillan presented his only Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Major has attributed his political ambitions to this event. Major's first job was as a clerk in the London-based insurance brokerage firm Price Forbes in 1959, though finding the job dull and offering no prospects he quit. Major began working with his brother Terry at
2006-482: A local library and as a part-time dance teacher. John Major later described the family's circumstances at this time as being "comfortable but not well off". Following a German V-1 flying bomb attack in the area in 1944 which killed several people, the Majors moved to the village of Saham Toney , Norfolk, for the remainder of the war . John began attending primary school at Cheam Common School from 1948. His childhood
2124-411: A new leader had been elected. Major subsequently announced on 22 November that he would stand in the second ballot, with Thatcher's backing. Major's platform was one of moderation on Europe, a review of the poll tax, and the desire to build a "classless society". Unlike in the first ballot, a candidate only required a simple majority of Conservative MPs to win, in this case 187 of 372 MPs. The ballot
2242-575: A number of candidates fighting for the crown. It would merely prolong the agony." Major served as Leader of the Opposition for seven weeks while the leadership election to replace him was underway. He formed a temporary Shadow Cabinet , but with seven of his Cabinet ministers having lost their seats at the election, and with few senior MPs left to replace them, several MPs had to hold multiple briefs. Major himself served as shadow foreign secretary (having served as foreign secretary for three months in 1989) and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence , and
2360-450: A priority, stating that tough measures were needed to bring it down and that "if it isn't hurting, it isn't working." He delivered his first Autumn Statement on 15 November, announcing a boost in spending (mainly for the NHS) and with interest rates to be kept as they were. As Chancellor, Major presented only one Budget , the first to be televised live, on 20 March 1990. He publicised it as
2478-460: A restructuring and write-off of some Third World debt at a Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in September 1990. Opposition within the Conservative Party to Margaret Thatcher had been brewing for some time, focusing on what was seen as her brusque, imperious style and the poll tax , which was facing serious opposition across the country. In December 1989, she had survived
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#17328380366002596-550: A serious car crash in which he broke a leg and had to be flown home. Leaving hospital, he split his time between Jean Kierans' house and a small rented flat in Mayfair , working at Standard Bank's London office and resuming his banking diploma and activities with the Young Conservatives in his spare time. Major stood again as Councillor in the 1968 Lambeth London Borough Council election , this time for Ferndale ward . Though
2714-467: A single European currency there could instead be a 'hard ECU ', which different national currencies could compete against and, if the ECU was successful, could lead to a single currency. The move was seen as a wrecking tactic by France and Germany, especially when the increasingly Euro-sceptic Thatcher announced her outright opposition to EMU, and the idea was abandoned. More successfully, Major managed to get
2832-559: Is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. He previously held Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , his last as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Major was Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon , formerly Huntingdonshire , from 1979 to 2001. Since stepping down as an MP in 2001, Major has focused on writing and his business, sporting, and charity work, and has occasionally commented on political developments in
2950-539: Is a fixed amount per winner, similar to the Thunderball, and Set For Life draws. For the changes to be made possible, the Lotto Millionaire raffle was discontinued. The ticket price of £2 and number pool (1–59) remain the same. Rollovers are limited to five. If nobody matches all six main numbers after the fifth rollover, the jackpot is shared between every prize winner including match 2 winners from October 2020. This
3068-404: Is also drawn, which affects only players who match five numbers. There are six prize tiers, which are awarded to players who match at least two of the six drawn numbers, with prizes increasing for matching more of the drawn numbers. The players who match all six drawn numbers win equal shares of the jackpot ; the chance of doing so is 1 in 45,057,474. Similarly, if four or five balls are matched,
3186-416: Is called a "Jackpot Rolldown". Every cash prize therefore increases substantially.(estimated amounts shown in brackets). Expected jackpots: £3.8m minimum on Saturday and £2.0m minimum on Wednesday. Lotto Event Draws. All prize levels have a fixed prize amount. Due to this payout structure on occasion there will be a larger allocated prize fund than required to pay out all winners. This additional prize money
3304-582: Is combined with the prize fund for the next prize category where there is at least one winner. Since the rule changes in October 2015 there is also a "match 2" prize of a free lucky dip ticket for another draw, with odds of doing so at 1 in 10. This created much criticism as the breakdown of prizes announced by Camelot includes the value of these prizes (£2 each winner) within the draw's prize fund even though each match 2 prize winner does not see any monetary value unless their ticket matches three main numbers or more in
3422-467: Is conducted twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, except that, between 1994 and 2009, a draw on Christmas Day was moved to Christmas Eve; since 2010, draws are held on Christmas Day if that was a Wednesday or Saturday. Saturday draws started on 19 November 1994, under the name 'National Lottery'; the first Wednesday draw was on 5 February 1997. All of the draws are shown live on their YouTube channel at 20:00 on Wednesdays, and at 19:45 on Saturdays. Lotto
3540-475: Is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom . Originally, the draw machines for Lotto and Lotto Extra were the Criterion model, manufactured by Beitel Lottery Products, which was acquired by Smartplay International Inc. in 1997, but on 25 October 2003, Camelot replaced them with Smartplay's Magnum I model. These machines were called Topaz, Sapphire, Amethyst, Opal, Garnet & Moonstone, while
3658-658: Is the state- franchised national lottery established in 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is regulated by the Gambling Commission , and is operated by Allwyn Entertainment , who took over from Camelot Group (who had been running the National Lottery since its inception) on 1 February 2024. Prizes are paid as a lump sum (with the exception of the Set For Life which is paid over a set period) and are tax-free. Of all money spent on National Lottery games, around 53% goes to
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3776-422: Is then placed into a reserve fund which is used when additional winners have winning matches. Once this surplus amount reaches a specified value a special event "must be won" draw is offered with a jackpot of £15 million. (rolling down if no match 6 winner). On Saturday 24 August 2019, Camelot also run a "double prize" event. All cash prizes were doubled although this has not been repeated since. Lotto Hotpicks uses
3894-490: The 1990 Mid Staffordshire by-election to Labour and the 1990 Eastbourne by-election to the Liberal Democrats , both Conservative seats, causing many Conservative MPs to worry about their prospects at the upcoming general election, due in 1991 or 1992. Thatcher's staunch anti-European stance also alienated pro-Europe Conservatives. On 1 November, the pro-European deputy prime minister Geoffrey Howe resigned, issuing
4012-799: The Citizen's Charter , removed the Poll Tax and replaced it with the Council Tax , committed British troops to the Gulf War , took charge of the UK's negotiations over the Maastricht Treaty , led the country during the early 1990s economic crisis , withdrew the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (on Black Wednesday ), promoted the socially conservative back to basics campaign , privatised
4130-510: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) that Major would be Thatcher's 'hatchet-man', as her relations with the department under Geoffrey Howe had been poor and characterised by mutual distrust. Major accepted the job and began to settle into the department, living in an upstairs room at the FCO and devolving decision making where necessary, though he found the increased security burdensome and disliked
4248-404: The Maastricht Treaty . On 12 May 1994, John Smith died from a heart attack and was replaced by Tony Blair who continued Labour's modernisation under the slogan of " New Labour ". Some polling at the end of 1994 and the start of 1995 had Labour with a vote share of over 60%. The Tories remained divided over this era and in an attempt to silence his critics, Major resigned as Party leader. In
4366-547: The Science Museum, London after being donated by Camelot in 2022. On 16 March 2018, Camelot advised more than 10 million players with online accounts to change their passwords because of a "low-level" cyber attack that affected 150 customer accounts. They claim that no money was taken from customers. Camelot claimed the hackers used a method called credential stuffing and said the attack appeared to have begun on 7 March. In February 2024, Allwyn Entertainment Ltd (part of
4484-577: The Young Conservatives in Brixton. He soon became a highly active member; this helped increase his confidence following the failure of his school days. Encouraged by fellow Conservative Derek Stone, he started giving speeches on a soap-box in Brixton Market . According to his biographer Anthony Seldon , Major brought "youthful exuberance" to the Tories in Brixton, but was sometimes in trouble with
4602-403: The leadership election , Major comfortably beat John Redwood in June 1995. Following a string of by-election defeats, the Conservatives' majority of 21 had been eroded by 13 December 1996. In the 1997 election on 1 May 1997, Labour won a 179-seat majority, ending their eighteen years in opposition. This was the worst general election result of the 20th century for the Conservatives, seeing
4720-746: The 1971 Lambeth Council election, Major continued to nurse political ambitions, and with help from friends in the Conservative Party managed to get onto the Conservative Central Office's list of potential MP candidates. Major was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Labour-dominated St Pancras North constituency, fighting both the February and October 1974 general elections, losing heavily both times to Labour's Albert Stallard . Major then attempted to get selected as
4838-661: The Argentine foreign minister , the first such meeting since the end of the Falklands War seven years earlier. Major's last major summit as Foreign Secretary was the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malaysia . The meeting was dominated by the issue of sanctions on South Africa, with Britain being the only country to oppose them, on the grounds that they would end up hurting poorer South Africans far more than
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4956-416: The Conservatives would suffer a landslide defeat in the upcoming general election. During this period, Michael Portillo had frequently been touted as the favourite to replace Major, but lost his seat in the election, thus eliminating him from the running. Although many Conservative MPs wanted Major to resign as leader immediately because of the 1997 election loss, there was a movement among the grassroots of
5074-517: The Digital Skills for Heritage Fund, a £3.5m fund for grants to support digital volunteering in the heritage sector, launched in November 2021. The chair of the trustees is appointed by the Prime Minister ; René Olivieri served as interim chair from January 2020 following Sir Peter Luff 's retirement at the end of 2019. Dr Simon Thurley CBE , former Chief Executive of English Heritage , became
5192-555: The ERM at a rate of DM 2.95 to £1.00 (with an agreed 6% floating 'band' either side) was announced the following day. An interest rate cut of 1% (from 15%) was also announced on the same day. The rest of Major's Chancellorship prior to the leadership contest was largely uneventful; he considered granting the Bank of England operational independence over monetary policy, with the ability to set interest rates, but decided against it. He also agreed
5310-771: The Environment Committee and also assisted with work on the Housing Act 1980 , which allowed council house tenants the Right to Buy their homes. At this time Major lived in De Vere Close, Hemingford Grey. Major's first promotion came when he was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in January 1981 to Patrick Mayhew and Timothy Raison , both Ministers of State at the Home Office . Seeking to gain more exposure to foreign affairs, he joined several Labour Party MPs on
5428-549: The European Union , parliamentary scandals (widely known as "sleaze") and questions over his economic credibility. Despite being reelected as Conservative leader in the 1995 leadership election , his government remained unpopular, and soon lost its parliamentary majority. The Labour Party pulled ahead of the Conservatives in every local election during Major's premiership, which increased after Tony Blair became Labour leader in 1994 . The Conservatives were defeated by Labour in
5546-471: The Exchequer Norman Lamont delivered his budget speech to the House of Commons, which included tax cuts widely perceived to achieve votes at the forthcoming general election. The next day, as universally expected, Major called an election for 9 April. To the surprise of many pollsters, the Conservatives won a majority on the 9 April election, with 336 seats, and earning 41.9% of the vote. With
5664-411: The Exchequer Norman Lamont had invested heavily in trying to keep it there, adjusting interest rates four times in one day. This event would later be called Black Wednesday . Despite the recession finally ending in 1993, the Conservatives' popularity didn't improve. Major's second ministry was also defined by conflicts within the Conservative Party regarding Europe following the government's defeat on
5782-511: The Huntingdon seat by a large margin in the 1979 general election , which brought the Conservatives led by Margaret Thatcher to power. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 13 June 1979, voicing his support for the government's budget. Major assiduously courted contacts at all levels of the party in this period, joining the informal 'Guy Fawkes club' of Conservative MPs and attending various Committees . He became Secretary of
5900-594: The LEB and took up a post at District Bank in May 1965, though he soon left this to join Standard Bank the following year, largely because the latter offered the chance to work abroad. In December 1966 he was sent for a long secondment in Jos, Nigeria , which he enjoyed immensely, though he was put off by the casual racism of some of the ex-pat workers there. In May 1967 he was involved in
6018-483: The Lotto Hotpicks draw is £1.00 per board. The Thunderball jackpot draw requires players to pick five main numbers from 1 to 39 and one 'Thunderball' number from 1 to 14 for an entry fee of £1 per line. Prizes are won by matching the Thunderball number or at least three main numbers alone. The more numbers matched, the bigger the prize won. The top prize, now £500,000, is won by matching all five main numbers as well as
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#17328380366006136-408: The Lotto game which increased the pool of numbers from 49 to 59. Rollovers are no longer limited in number, instead the size of the jackpot is capped; the cap is reached after about 14 rollovers. When the jackpot gets to £50 million, if no-one matches all six main numbers the jackpot will rollover to the following draw. In the event nobody matches all six numbers on that draw the jackpot "rolls down" and
6254-419: The National Lottery brand: As of March 2019 , the current games include: Players buy tickets with their choice of six different numbers between 1 and 59; there is provision for random numbers to be generated automatically for those who do not wish to choose, known as a 'Lucky Dip'. The entry fee to the Lotto draw was set at £1 per board from its introduction, and increased to £2 in October 2013. The draw
6372-579: The Parks for People program with the aim to revitalize historic parks and cemeteries. From 2006 to 2021, the Fund had granted £254 million to 135 projects. In January 2019 it simplified its funding schemes under one banner – National Lottery Grants for Heritage – with awards from £3,000 to £5 million. Funding requests for projects over £5 million will be considered as part of two time-limited national competitions to be held in 2020–21 and 2022–23. Its funding routes include
6490-513: The Queen 's invitation to form a government, succeeding Margaret Thatcher . He inherited a majority government from Margaret Thatcher who had been the prime minister for the previous eleven years. The Conservatives' popularity was low, with some polling showing Labour 's Neil Kinnock with a 23% lead over the Tories in April 1990 following the introduction of the Community Charge (poll tax). By
6608-539: The Social Security Act 1986 and improving provision for disabled people. Major began to gain a bigger profile, giving his first speech at the Conservative Party Conference in October 1986. He first attracted major national media attention in January 1987 over cold weather payments to the elderly, when Britain was in the depths of a severe winter. Amidst intense media criticism, Major discussed
6726-446: The Thunderball. The lowest prize is £3 for matching the Thunderball alone. Draws take place four times a week – Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays – and are shown live on the official website and on their YouTube channel at 20:00 on Tuesday & Fridays, and at 20:15 on Wednesdays & Saturdays. The first Thunderball draw was held on 12 June 1999 and the draw was originally only held on Saturdays, however, from 23 October 2002,
6844-452: The Treasury from 1987 to 1989, Foreign Secretary in 1989, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Following Thatcher's resignation in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, Major stood in the 1990 Conservative leadership election to replace her and emerged victorious, becoming prime minister. Major's mild-mannered style and moderate political stance contrasted with that of Thatcher. As prime minister, Major created
6962-720: The UK he and Thatcher met with French president François Mitterrand , in which the future direction of the European Community was discussed. In September 1989, Major delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly , in which he pledged to support Colombia's effort to tackle the drugs trade and reiterated Britain's opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa. Major also met US president George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C. and Domingo Cavallo ,
7080-885: The UK to remain in the European Union , and has often criticised Brexit since the outcome of the 2016 referendum . Major was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG) in 2005 for services to politics and charity, and became a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1999 for his work on the Northern Ireland peace process. Although public favourability of Major has improved since he left office, his premiership has generally been viewed as average in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. John Major
7198-433: The UK's sectors. Falling house prices stalled construction in the housing sector. Economic growth wasn't re-established until early 1993. By December 1991, unemployment was at 2.5 million (compared to 1.6 million 18 months earlier). Additionally, inflation was in double digits and interest rates reached 15%. However, opinion polling for Major's government remained stable during this period. On 10 March 1992, Chancellor of
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#17328380366007316-486: The aim being to increase funding on safety measures following the Bradford City stadium fire and Hillsborough disaster . Extra funding was also made available to Scotland in order to limit the impact of the Community Charge (widely dubbed the 'Poll Tax'), which had been introduced there that year. The European Community's push for full Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was another important factor in Major's time as Chancellor; in June 1990 he proposed that instead of
7434-441: The apartheid regime at which they were aimed. The summit ended acrimoniously, with Thatcher controversially and against established precedent issuing a second final communiqué stating Britain's opposition to sanctions, with the press seizing on the apparent disagreement on the matter between Major and Thatcher. After just three months as Foreign Secretary Major was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 October 1989 following
7552-445: The bonus ball, compared to the former system. As part of the refresh, a new Lotto Raffle was introduced, with at least 50 winners of £20,000 per draw. The announcement and launch of the refreshed Lotto game caused controversy due to the price increase (dubbed as a "tax on the poor"). The new game launched with a £10,000,000 jackpot and 1,000 Lotto Raffle winners of £20,000. From 10 October 2015, Camelot announced further changes to
7670-423: The bonus was 10, and seven jackpot winners shared a prize of £5,874,778. Tickets became available on the Isle of Man on 2 December 1999 at the request of Tynwald . A second lottery draw, Thunderball, was introduced by Camelot on 12 June 1999, which took place during the first episode of Winning Lines . The first main numbers drawn on Thunderball were 32, 8, 26, 31 and 28, and the first Thunderball number drawn
7788-427: The building of several large council estates . He also promoted more openness at the council, initiating a series of public meetings with local residents. Major also undertook fact-finding trips to the Netherlands, Finland and the Soviet Union . Despite the Lambeth housing team being well-regarded nationally, Major lost his seat in the 1971 Lambeth London Borough Council election . Major met Norma Johnson at
7906-448: The business in severe financial difficulties. A recalled business loan which the family were unable to repay forced Tom Major to sell the house in Worcester Park in May 1955, with the family moving to a cramped, rented top-floor flat at 144 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton . With his parents distracted by their reduced circumstances, John's difficulties at Rutlish went unnoticed. Acutely conscious of his straitened circumstances in relation to
8024-499: The chair of trustees on 1 April 2021. The Chief Executive from July 2016 to December 2021 was Ros Kerslake OBE, former CEO of The Prince's Regeneration Trust . In August 2021, the Fund announced that Ros Kerslake would be stepping down at the end of 2021. The Chief Executive since January 2022 is Eilish McGuinness. The Fund's head office is in London, and it has offices elsewhere in the UK. Major projects have included: National Lottery (United Kingdom) The National Lottery
8142-415: The couple moved to a larger residence at West Oak, Beckenham , and had a second child, James, in January 1975. Meanwhile, Major continued to work at Standard Bank (renamed Standard Chartered from 1975), having completed his banking diploma in 1972. Major was promoted to head of the PR department in August 1976, and his duties necessitated the occasional foreign trip to East Asia. Despite his setback at
8260-406: The draw on 8 October 2004. The draws are currently made in Paris and shown recorded in the UK on the official website twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, approximately three hours after the draw has taken place. The entry fee to the EuroMillions draw is £2.50 per board. The odds of winning the jackpot are 139,838,160 to 1. John Major [REDACTED] Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943)
8378-415: The draw was held on Wednesdays too. From 2006 to 2008, only the Saturday draw was televised, while on Wednesday the draw took place prior to the live TV show and the winning results were announced during the show. The rules of Thunderball changed substantially on 9 May 2010. Before this date, Thunderball matches were drawn from numbers 1 to 34; there was no prize for matching the Thunderball number alone, and
8496-542: The election of William Hague . Major remained in the House of Commons as a backbencher, regularly attending and contributing in debates, until he stood down at the 2001 election to focus on writing and his business, sporting and charity work. Since leaving office, Major has tended to maintain a low profile in the media, occasionally making political interventions. He supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for
8614-559: The extensive ceremonial aspects of the role. Amongst Major's first acts as Foreign Secretary was to cancel the sale of Hawk aircraft to Iraq , over concerns they would be used for internal repression. He represented Britain at the Paris Peace Conference to determine the future of Cambodia . Major also met with US secretary of state James Baker , with whom he primarily discussed the issue of Vietnamese boat people , and with Qian Qichen , Foreign Minister of China, becoming
8732-634: The first Set For Life draw took place. The game offers a top prize of £10,000 per month for thirty years (£3,600,000). Each line costs £1.50, and draws take place every Monday and Thursday at 20:00. Players choose five main numbers from 1 to 47, and one "Life Ball" from 1 to 10. On Saturday 7 February 2004 the lottery operator Camelot launched a pan-European lottery: EuroMillions. The first draw took place on Friday 13 February 2004 in Paris. The UK, France and Spain were involved initially. Lotteries from Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland joined
8850-434: The first round. Major was at home in Huntingdon recovering from a pre-arranged wisdom tooth operation during the first leadership ballot, which Thatcher won but not by the required threshold, necessitating a second round. Following discussions with her cabinet, in which many stated that though supporting her they doubted she could win, Thatcher withdrew from the contest and announced that she would resign as prime minister once
8968-561: The first senior Western politician to meet with a Chinese official since the violent crackdown of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square the previous month. Discussions focused primarily on the future of Hong Kong , which Britain was scheduled to hand over to China in 1997. Major spent most of a summer holiday that year in Spain conducting extensive background reading on foreign affairs and British foreign policy. Upon his return to
9086-505: The following draw. Included with each Lotto ticket is the Millionaire Lotto Raffle where 20 players win £20,000 each and one player wins £1 million per draw. In January 2016, the Lotto jackpot reached the £50 million cap and rolled over once more to reach a record-breaking £66 million. This was won by two ticket holders who received £33 million each. In August of that year, the jackpot cap was lowered to £22 million. If nobody won
9204-627: The future funding of the NHS , against the background of an NHS strike in February 1988 over pay, resulting in the 'Working for Patients' white paper and subsequent National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 . Major also insisted in discussions with Thatcher that government assistance should be provided to support the sale of Short Brothers to Bombardier , an aerospace company and major employer in Northern Ireland which might otherwise have collapsed. In 1987–1988, it became clear that Major had become
9322-452: The garden ornaments business; this had been sold in 1959, enabling the family to move to a larger residence at 80 Burton Road, Brixton. Major's father died on 27 March 1962. John left the ornaments business the following year to care for his ill mother, though when she got better he was unable to find a new job and was unemployed for much of the latter half of 1962, a situation he says was "degrading". After Major became prime minister, it
9440-485: The issue with Margaret Thatcher and an increase in the payments was approved. Following the 1987 general election , in which Major retained his seat with an increased majority, he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury , making him the first MP of the 1979 intake to reach the Cabinet. The then-Chancellor Nigel Lawson generally made significant decisions with little input from others, and Major
9558-445: The jackpot when it reached £22 million or more, it would roll to the next draw one final time. Then, the jackpot must be won: if no-one matched all six main numbers, the jackpot prize was to be shared by the players with the most winning numbers. From October 2015 until October 2018, the total prize fund was 47.50% of draw sales in a normal week, including the raffle. The three-ball prize winners, with odds of 96 to 1, received £25 each;
9676-625: The loss of all the party's seats in Wales and Scotland. On the morning of 2 May 1997, on his final departure from Downing Street to offer his resignation to the Queen , Major announced his intention to step down as leader of the Conservative Party, stating in his exit speech that "when the curtain falls, it's time to get off the stage". He was succeeded as prime minister by Tony Blair . Speculation over Major's leadership had continued since his re-election in 1995, and intensified as it became increasingly likely that
9794-689: The main Lotto draw for its numbers but is a different game. The player chooses both the numbers and the number of draw balls they want to try to match, up to a maximum of five. However, if the player does not match all the numbers chosen, they are not a winner. The National Lottery describes Hotpicks as "five games in one", because the player has a choice of five ways of playing the game, each offering different odds and payouts. Prior to 2015 (49 numbers) Prizes were 1 number = £5, 2 Numbers = £40, 3 Numbers = £450, 4 Numbers £7,000, 5 Numbers = £130,000. At launch, Match 1 & Match 5 were not available. These 2 options were added on 26 October 2005. The entry fee to
9912-550: The main Lotto draw that evening was £6,600,000, the jackpot for the Lotto Golden Jubilee Draw was £10,000,000. Again on 6 November 2004, to celebrate The National Lottery's 10th anniversary, Camelot once again introduced another special one-off jackpot-only draw, known as the Lotto 10th Anniversary Draw. The jackpot for this bonus draw, like with the Lotto Golden Jubilee Draw, was £10,000,000. Once again on 29 April 2006, in response to Camelot's rival Chariot introducing
10030-719: The main draw. The rules were the same as Lotto Extra where players must match all six numbers to win the jackpot.( see below ) Camelot announced that the ticket price was to double to £2 from 3 October 2013, with prizes restructured. The announcement was followed by news that large bonuses were to be set aside for management pay, which drew criticism. The arrival of the "New Lotto" meant bigger jackpots with an estimated average of £1.1 million extra for Saturday's draw and £400,000 on Wednesday. Players matching three numbers receive an extra £15, up from £10 before and an extra £40 for matching 4 numbers. Those matching five numbers receive £500 less, and £50,000 less when matching five numbers +
10148-530: The major rule changes on Thunderball. The current Lotto machines are the Smartplay Magnum II model, and the current Thunderball and Set For Life machines are the Smartplay Halogen II model. The Thunderball & Set for Life machines are all named Excalibur, named after King Arthur's sword. One of the National Lottery's original Beitel Criterion Lottery machines, Guinevere is currently on display at
10266-657: The minimum age was 16. A statute of 1698 provided that in England lotteries were by default illegal unless specifically authorised by statute. State lotteries were established by the Bank of England to generate money for 'good causes' and also to enable Britain to go to war. Early English state lotteries included the Million Lottery (1694) and the Malt Lottery (1697). A 1934 Act, further liberalised in 1956 and 1976, legalised small lotteries. A National Health Service Lottery
10384-518: The multinational KKCG company) took over all operations of the National Lottery, replacing the Camelot Group . As of 22 April 2021 , the eligibility requirements include: From introduction in November 1994 until April 2021, lottery tickets could be purchased by people at least 16 years old. Scratchcards , from introduction in March 1995 to April 2021, could also be purchased by people at least 16 years old. Several games operate under
10502-533: The new European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) located in London. By early 1990, Major had become convinced that the best way to combat inflation and restore macroeconomic stability would be if the British pound were to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), and he and Douglas Hurd (Major's successor as Foreign Secretary) set about trying to convince a reluctant Thatcher to join it. The move
10620-548: The now slightly enlarged seat of Huntingdon at the 1983 general election . Shortly thereafter he and Norma moved to a larger house (Finings) in Great Stukeley ; Major generally spent his weekends there, and weekdays at a rented flat in Durand Gardens, Stockwell . Major was invited to join the prestigious 'Blue Chip' group of rising stars in the Conservative Party, and he was promoted to Treasury Whip in October 1984. It
10738-501: The office of Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland was left vacant until after the 2001 general election as the party no longer had any Scottish MPs. Major's resignation as Conservative leader formally took effect on 19 June 1997 after the election of William Hague . Major's Resignation Honours were announced on 1 August 1997. He remained active in Parliament, regularly attending and contributing in debates. He stood down from
10856-476: The older Criterion machines from 1994 were called Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot & Guinevere, with the addition of Vyvyan & Galahad in 2000. On 21 November 2009, Camelot replaced its older Lotto draw machines again. The new machines have the same names of those used on earlier machines, except Vyvyan & Galahad. On 9 May 2010, new machines for the Thunderball game were introduced, replacing Smartplay's older Halogen I model that had been in use since 1999, following
10974-616: The other pupils, Major was something of a loner and consistently under-performed except in sports, especially cricket , coming to see the school as "a penance to be endured". Major left school just before his 16th birthday in 1959 with just three O-level passes in History, English Language and English Literature, to his parents' disappointment. Major's interest in politics stems from this period, and he avidly kept up with current affairs by reading newspapers on his commutes from Brixton to Wimbledon. In 1956 Major met local MP Marcus Lipton at
11092-476: The party, encouraged by his political allies, to have him stay on as leader until the autumn. Lord Cranborne , his chief of staff during the election, and the chief whip, Alastair Goodlad , both pleaded with him to stay on: they argued that remaining as leader for a few months would give the party time to come to terms with the scale of defeat before electing a successor. Major refused, saying: "It would be terrible, because I would be presiding with no authority over
11210-626: The prize fund and 25% to "good causes" as set out by Parliament (though some of this is considered by some to be a form of " stealth tax " levied to support the National Lottery Community Fund , a fund constituted to support public spending). 12% goes to the UK government as lottery duty, 4% to retailers as commission, and a total of 5% to the operator, with 4% to cover operating costs and 1% as profit. Since 22 April 2021, players must be 18 years of age to purchase lottery tickets and scratchcards (online and in-store). Previously,
11328-411: The probability of a rollover). "Treble rollovers"—two consecutive rollovers—are much less common. The first quadruple rollover draw occurred on Saturday 29 September 2012 with a jackpot of £19.5 million. In the event of a quadruple rollover, if no tickets matched all six main numbers, the jackpot was shared between the tickets that match five numbers and the bonus ball. In October 2015, this rollover limit
11446-402: The professional agent Marion Standing. Major stood as a Councillor in the 1964 Lambeth London Borough Council election for Larkhall ward at the age of 21 in 1964, losing to Labour. He also assisted local Conservative candidates Kenneth Payne in the 1964 general election and Piers Dixon in the 1966 general election . Another formative influence on Major in this period was Jean Kierans,
11564-471: The railways and coal industry, and played a pivotal role in creating peace in Northern Ireland . Two years into his premiership , Major went on to lead the Conservatives to a fourth consecutive electoral victory , winning more than 14 million votes, which remains the highest number ever won by a political party in Britain. In 1995, Major resigned as party leader, amid internal divisions over UK membership of
11682-459: The relevant prize is divided equally between all who match that many balls. If no player matches all six numbers, the jackpot is added to that of the next Lotto draw—a rollover . This accumulation was limited to three consecutive draws until 10 February 2011, when it was increased to four. Rollovers are frequent, with for example 20 Wednesday (39%) and 13 Saturday rollovers (25%) in 2011 (fewer tickets are sold on Wednesdays than Saturdays, increasing
11800-474: The response to protests at RAF Molesworth , which lay in his constituency; various peace groups were opposed to the siting of cruise missiles at the base and had established a permanent 'peace camp' there. Major addressed public meetings opposed to the protesters, organised by parish councillors, and also met Bill Westwood and separately Michael Heseltine to discuss the issue. The protesters were evicted in February 1984. Major comfortably won re-election to
11918-713: The role of an elder statesman. Having left school just before his sixteenth birthday, Major worked as an insurance clerk and joined the Young Conservatives in 1959, and soon became a highly active member. He was elected to Lambeth London Borough Council in 1968 and a decade later to parliament, being elected as the Conservative MP for Huntingdonshire at the 1979 general election . Major held several junior government positions under Thatcher from 1984 to 1987, including parliamentary private secretary and assistant whip . He served in Thatcher's third ministry as Chief Secretary to
12036-459: The sudden resignation of Nigel Lawson , who had fallen out with Thatcher over what he saw as her excessive reliance on the advice of her Economic Adviser Alan Walters . The appointment meant that, despite only being in the Cabinet for a little over two years, Major had gone from the most junior position in the Cabinet to holding two of the Great Offices of State . Major made tackling inflation
12154-407: The time of Major's appointment, Labour's lead had shrunk to 14%. However, by 1991, the Conservatives had narrowly retaken Labour in the polls. Major's first ministry was dominated by the early 1990s recession which was believed to be caused by high interest rates, falling house prices and an overvalued exchange rate. The high interest rates led to more saving, less spending and less investment in
12272-625: The top prize (for matching five main numbers and the Thunderball) was half the current jackpot at £250,000. After this date, the Friday draw was introduced in addition to the Wednesday and Saturday draws. Following the change of rules, while the chance of winning anything on Thunderball more than doubled, the chance of winning the top prizes more than halved. The Tuesday draw was added on 30 January 2018. The odds and payouts are as follows: On 18 March 2019,
12390-528: The two-ball prize winners received a free £2 entry. 17.82% of the sales are divided as shown in the table and split equally with the number of winners for each selection. In October 2018 the Lotto Raffle was discontinued. Wednesday 21 November 2018 brought significant changes. Ever since the game's inception, all prizes levels from "match 4" and above varied depending on the number of winners at each level and on total ticket sales. From this date, each prize level
12508-401: Was 6. The National Lottery undertook a major rebranding programme in May 2002, designed to combat falling sales. The main game was renamed Lotto , and Lottery Extra became Lotto Extra , though Camelot would later retire Lotto Extra on 8 July 2006 due to low sales. The stylised crossed-fingers logo was modified. However, the games as a collective are still known as the National Lottery . It
12626-477: Was born on 29 March 1943 at St Helier Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children in St Helier , Surrey, to Gwen Major ( née Coates, 1905–1970) and former music hall performer Tom Major-Ball (1879–1962), who was 63 years old when Major was born. He was christened "John Roy Major" but only "John Major" was recorded on his birth certificate ; he used his middle name until the early 1980s. His birth had been
12744-477: Was generally happy, and he enjoyed reading, sports (especially cricket and football ) and keeping pets, such as his rabbits. In 1954 John passed the 11+ exam, enabling him to go to Rutlish School , a grammar school in Merton Park , though to John's chagrin his father insisted that he register as 'John Major-Ball'. The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse, with his father's health deteriorating, and
12862-527: Was held on the afternoon of 27 November; although Major obtained 185 votes, 2 votes short of an overall majority, he polled far enough ahead of both Hurd and Heseltine to secure their immediate withdrawal. With no remaining challengers, Major was formally named Leader of the Conservative Party that evening and was duly appointed prime minister the following day. At 47, he was the youngest prime minister since Lord Rosebery some 95 years earlier. Major became prime minister on 28 November 1990 when he accepted
12980-469: Was later revealed (in 2002) that during this period Major had conducted an affair with Edwina Currie , a Conservative backbencher and later Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Health and Social Security ; the affair ended in 1988. Major narrowly avoided the IRA 's Brighton hotel bombing in October 1984, having left the hotel only a few hours before the bomb went off. Also in this period, Major stood in for
13098-612: Was misreported that his failure to get a job as a bus conductor resulted from his failing to pass a maths test; he had in fact passed all of the necessary tests but had been passed over owing to his height. In the meantime he studied for a qualification in banking via correspondence course . Eventually in December 1962 he found a job working at the London Electricity Board (LEB) in Elephant and Castle . In 1959, Major had joined
13216-483: Was originally called The National Lottery , but was renamed Lotto in an update on 18 May 2002 after ticket sales decreased. Lotto is by far the most popular draw, with around 15 to 45 million tickets sold each draw. The most winners for a single jackpot was 133 in January 1995, each player winning £122,510. In the draw, six numbered balls are drawn without replacement from a set of 59 balls numbered from 1 to 59 (formerly 1 to 49 until October 2015). A further Bonus Ball
13334-473: Was piloted in 1988 but cancelled for legal reasons before the first draw. The UK's state-franchised lottery was set up under government licence by the government of John Major in 1993. The National Lottery was franchised to a private operator; the Camelot Group was awarded the franchise on 25 May 1994. The first draw took place on 19 November 1994 with a television programme presented by Noel Edmonds . The first numbers drawn were 30, 3, 5, 44, 14 and 22,
13452-455: Was put in charge of agreeing departmental budgets with the Secretaries of State . These discussions went well, and for the first time in several years budgets were agreed without recourse to the external adjudication of the so-called ' Star Chamber '. Major successfully concluded a second round of such spending reviews in July 1988. Whilst Chief Secretary Major took part in discussions over
13570-560: Was re-branded as the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2019. The fund's income comes from the National Lottery , which was managed until 2024 by Camelot Group . Its objectives are "to conserve the UK's diverse heritage, to encourage people to be involved in heritage and to widen access and learning". As of 2019, it had awarded £7.9 billion to 43,000 projects. In 2006, the National Lottery Heritage Fund launched
13688-477: Was replaced by a jackpot cap. On 18 May 2002, to celebrate the rebranding of The National Lottery, Camelot had introduced three special one-off bonus jackpot-only draws, with each bonus draw having a jackpot of £4,000,000. In the same year on 1 June 2002, Camelot had introduced another special one-off jackpot-only draw to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II . Whilst the estimated jackpot for
13806-548: Was seen as being the most likely to win-over the increasingly large numbers of upwardly mobile London over-spill families living in the area, and he was helped to familiarise himself with the area by local MP David Renton . In 1977 the Major family purchased a house at De Vere Close in the village of Hemingford Grey . Major took on a less demanding job at Standard Chartered, and started working part-time in 1978 so that he could devote more time to his constituency duties. Major won
13924-597: Was supported by the Bank of England , the Treasury, most of the Cabinet, the Labour Party, several major business associations and much of the press. With the ' Lawson Boom ' showing signs of running out of steam, exacerbated by rising oil prices following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, there were fears of a potential recession and pressure to cut interest rates. Thatcher finally agreed on 4 October, and Britain's entry into
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