The British Labour government led by Prime Minister James Callaghan was defeated in a vote of confidence in the House of Commons on March 28, 1979.
Callaghan immediately announced he would call a general election.
Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party won the May 3 election with a majority of 44 seats in the 635-member House of Commons. Thatcher was Prime Minister until the end of November 1990.
- Listen to the announcement of the vote in the Commons:
- Prime Minister James Callaghan: “We shall take our case to the country”
