16 sett 1992 anni - Black Wednesday

Descrizione:

Shortly after the Conservative's victory, there was a run on the pound.

The pound (along with many other currencies) was going down. The government increased interest rates to 15% and bought sterling on foreign exchanges. However this didn't keep the pound within the ERM limit. This led to Britain removing themselves from the ERM.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont resigned in 1993 and was replaced by Kenneth Clarke.

The leaving from the ERM actually proved to be successful economically. Unemployment was down. Productivity was up (thought not by much). The government did not have to have high interest rates to control the pound, making negative equity a thing of the past.

However, the idea of the Conservatives keeping the economy stable was destroyed by Black Wednesday. In October, the Labour party was leading 16 points in opinion polls.