'National Plan for Coal' to invest more in coalfields, stopping further industrial action. Former Chancellor James Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Prime Minister in 1976, but lost the government's majority on his first day in office. Amid rising inflation and unemployment, Callaghan made a televised broadcast on 7 September 1978. It was widely expected that he would call an early general election, but in reality he chose to stay on for the full five-year term. He said that: The government must and will continue to carry out policies that are consistent, determined, that don't chop or change and that brought about the present recovery in our fortunes. His speech was strongly criticised by opposition leaders, with Liberal leader David Steel and Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher accusing Callaghan of "running scared". Callaghan was eventually forced to call an election on 28 March 1979, after he lost a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons by a margin of one vote. This came after a series of strikes and economic unrest dubbed the Winter of Discontent, which severely damaged the government's popularity. The next day, he made a second statement defending the government's record, and officially announcing the general election. Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher made a response on 2 April (rescheduled from 31 March after the death of Airey Neave), ridiculing Callaghan's speech and encouraging the public to vote for her party at the election, which she went on to win. 1980s Margaret Thatcher did not give any further Ministerial Broadcasts in her time as Prime Minister, even in times of national crisis such as the Falklands War. In 1987 she was encouraged to give a broadcast about the spread of HIV/AIDS by Health Secretary Norman Fowler, but refused on the grounds of "bad taste". 1990s On 17 January 1991, John Major (who had succeeded Thatcher as Prime Minister the previous year) gave a broadcast about the decision to send British troops to fight in the Gulf War as part of Operation Desert Storm. Major also gave a broadcast after signing the Downing Street Declaration on 15 December 1993, which affirmed the right of self-determination for the island of Ireland. In his statement, he said that Northern Ireland needed to: Recent broadcasts Iraq War There have been three ministerial broadcasts since the turn of the century. After Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election, Tony Blair became Prime Minister. Blair