The 1995 Conservative Party leadership election was initiated when the incumbent leader and prime minister, John Major, resigned on 22 June 1995, in order to face a leadership challenge from his critics within the party. On 4 July 1995, he was re-elected, beating the only other candidate, the former Secretary of State for Wales, John Redwood. For some years the Conservative Party had been deeply divided on the issue of the European Union and there had been much speculation each year that Major would be challenged for the leadership during the annual re-election of the leader each November. Many both within and outside the party believed that the constant speculation was highly damaging and so Major took the dramatic step to force an early contest. He announced his decision in a speech in the garden of 10 Downing Street, challenging his party opponents to "put up or shut up". The Conservative government was also proving unpopular with the British public at the time, trailing the Labour Party in opinion polls and having suffered heavy losses in local elections for three successive years, as well as a poor performance in the previous year's European elections. Rules Under the rules at the time, (introduced in 1965 and modified in 1975), there would be a series of ballots, conducted by the 1922 Committee, with the committee's chairman, Sir Marcus Fox, serving as Returning Officer. Since the leadership was vacant, a contest required the nomination of only two candidates. Under the rules in force, to win in the first round, a candidate not only needed to win the backing of an absolute majority of members of parliament, but also needed a majority over the runner-up of 15 per cent of the total electorate. If neither of these were achieved, then a second ballot would take place in the following week, nominations would be reopened, and at this stage an absolute majority only would be required to win. If there were no winner on the second ballot, then the top two candidates would go forward to a third round. Because of this process, the first round was widely regarded as the expression of confidence (or otherwise) in Major. Many speculated that if he did not achieve outright victory then he would resign, enabling more prominent Conservatives, such as Michael Heseltine or Michael Portillo, to stand in the second round. Candidates and their platforms John Major