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John Major: Difference between revisions
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→Early post-school career (1959–1979): decap "banking"
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== Early post-school career (1959–1979) ==
Major's first job was as a clerk in the London-based insurance brokerage firm [[Alexander Forbes Group Holdings|Price Forbes]] in 1959, though finding the job dull and offering no prospects he quit.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=26-27}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=16}} Major began working with his brother Terry at the garden ornaments business; this had been sold in 1959, enabling the family to move to a larger residence at 80 Burton Road, Brixton.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=27-28}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=18}} Major's father died on 17 March 1962.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=29}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=18}} 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."{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=18}} After Major became Prime Minister, it 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.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=30}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=18}} In the meantime he studied for a qualification in
In 1959 Major had joined the [[Young Conservatives (UK)|Young Conservatives]] in Brixton and soon became a highly active member, which helped increase his confidence following the failure of his school days.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=28}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=19}} Encouraged by fellow Conservative Derek Stone, he started giving speeches on a [[soapbox|soap-box]] in [[Brixton Market]].{{sfn|Major|2000|p=28-29}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=18}} According to his biographer [[Anthony Seldon]], Major brought "youthful exuberance" to the Tories in Brixton, but was sometimes in trouble with the professional agent Marion Standing.{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=19}} Major stood as a Councillor in the [[1964 Lambeth London Borough Council election]] for [[Larkhall (ward)|Larkhall ward]] at the age of 21 in 1964, losing to Labour.{{sfn|Major|2000|p=31}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=21}} He also assisted local Conservative candidates Kenneth Payne in the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]] and [[Piers Dixon]] in the [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 general election]].{{sfn|Major|2000|p=31}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=21-2}} Another formative influence on Major in this period was Jean Kierans, 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."{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=21}} Major later moved in with Kierans when his family left Burton Road in 1965;{{sfn|Major|2000|p=33}}{{sfn|Seldon|1998|p=21-2}} their relationship lasted from 1963 to sometime after 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-young-john-major-and-the-older-woman-1571704.html|title=The young John Major and the older woman|date=6 February 1995|website=The Independent|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>
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