Edward Heath

:For the bandleader, see Ted Heath (bandleader).

The end

Having lost (at least in terms of parliamentary seats) three out of four general elections into which he had led his party, Heath came to be seen as a liability by many Conservative MPs, party activists and by editors of newspapers sympathetic to the party. Among the wider electorate he attracted more sympathy, partly because of public statements he had made hinting at his willingness to consider the idea of serving in a government of national unity.

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Heath resolved to remain as Conservative leader and, initially, it appeared that, by calling on the loyalty of his front bench colleagues, he might prevail. At this point the Conservative leadership rules merely allowed for an election to fill a vacancy but contained no provision for a sitting leader to either seek a fresh mandate or be challenged. In late 1974 Heath came under massive pressure to concede a review of the rules. It was agreed to establish a commission to propose necessary changes and that Heath would put himself up for election under the new rules. Initially Heath expected to be comfortably re-elected as there was no clear challenger to him after Enoch Powell had left the party and Keith Joseph had ruled himself out following controversial statements on birth control. However, the determination of Airey Neave acting on behalf of disgruntled back bench MPs to seek any potential serious challenger to Heath, combined with the resolution of Margaret Thatcher that someone adhering to the CPS line should put their case to the parliamentary party led to her declaring herself a candidate in a leadership challenge.

Related Topics:
1974 - Enoch Powell - Keith Joseph - Airey Neave

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As the rules of the leadership contest permitted new candidates to enter the fray in a second round of voting should the leader not be confirmed by a large enough majority, Thatcher's challenge was considered that of a stalking horse. Airey Neave as Thatcher's campaign manager was later accused of having deliberately understated her support in order to attract waverers away from Heath who lost the first ballot by 119 votes to 130 on February 4, 1975. Although Heath then withdrew from the contest, it turned out to be too late for any of his allies from his own wing of the party to overhaul Thatcher's lead. His favoured candidate, William Whitelaw, lost to Thatcher by 79 votes to 146 a week later.

Related Topics:
Stalking horse - Airey Neave - February 4 - 1975 - William Whitelaw

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