 He went on to lead the Conservatives to a record fourth consecutive electoral victory, winning the most votes in British electoral history with over 14 million votes at the 1992 general election, albeit with a reduced majority in the House of Commons.Shortly after this, in what came to be known as Black Wednesday (September 1992), his government was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.This event led to a loss of confidence in Conservative economic policies and Major was never able to achieve a lead in opinion polls again.