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- The Gang of 25 or the Group of 25 was a cohort of British Conservative Party backbench members of Parliament (MPs) that threatened to vote against prime minister Margaret Thatcher's 1981 Autumn Statement. The statement contained monetarist measures to control inflation. Similar measures introduced since 1979 had reduced inflation but caused job losses in the manufacturing sector. The majority of the Gang put their names to a 25 November letter to Thatcher's Chief Whip, Michael Jopling, that stated they would vote against any deflationary economic measures. A potential revolt by the Gang, plus twenty others suspected by Jopling, could negate the Conservatives' 45-seat majority and lead to the government being defeated in the House of Commons. The move came at a low-point for Thatcher, following the Brixton and Toxteth riots and when the new SDP–Liberal Alliance was polling strongly. There were concerns that Stephen Dorrell would defect to the SDP, to join Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler who had defected in March. A conciliatory approach was adopted, with meetings arranged between Gang members and senior government figures. Thatcher's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), Ian Gow, took over the response to the crisis, and he considered that Jopling was overstating the risk of a significant rebellion. The vote on the Autumn Statement passed on 8 December, with none of the Gang voting against the government, though 12 were among 14 Conservative MPs who abstained on the motion. (en)
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