Major revision sees legacy sealed for Sir John JOHN Major has acquired that elusive thing, so rare among former statesmen, so hard to define, yet unmistakable when you encounter it: the X Factor. I've been waiting for more than a decade to say why; but because the former British prime minister is a friend and because I was a vocal and lonely supporter during his beleaguered years in No 10, I've been reluctant to turn myself into some kind of political groupie.