Edward Heath (1970-74) - Prime Minister - Parliament

Edward Heath was born in 1916 and educated at Oxford. As an undergraduate he and a few others went to observe the Spanish Civil War and on his return he campaigned for intervention in the war. Aside from this Heath was a strong opponent of Chamberlain’s appeasement policy. By 1940 Heath had been called up to the Army and fought in the Second World War. He was also an active member of the Conservative Party and was elected to the House of Commons.

In 1965 Heath became leader of the Conservative Party and immediately lost the 1966 election, however by 1970 he had defeated Wilson to become Britain’s next Prime Minister. He successfully led Britain into the European Economic Community but this ended up causing deep factions in the Party for over thirty years. After running into disputes with trade unions he eventually lost the next election and even his leadership of the Conservative Party to Margaret Thatcher.

Heath, The Course of My Life – 1988:
“My Christian faith also provided foundations for my political beliefs. In this, I was influenced by the teaching of William Temple. Temple's impact on my generation was immense. He believed that a fairer society could be built only on moral foundations, with all individuals recognising their duty to help others. Like Lindsay, he was a socialist and, in his wish to redress the balance of power between those who own and those who produce, he sometimes failed to see that some would seek through socialist measures not justice, but power for its own sake.

He was, however, the first Anglican leader for decades to set out the Church's teachings in modern terms. He propounded a view of morality which was not preoccupied with sexuality, but which was relevant to the myriad problems besetting the individual in the personal, professional and social spheres. On mainland Europe, the related but more conservative doctrines of Christian Democracy had, regrettably, been submerged by fascism and nationalism.

But many of us were already intrigued and rather attracted by the apparent kinship of Christian Democratic thinking with our own moderate Conservatism, which we similarly predicated upon the view that the individual can be truly fulfilled only as part of a social unit”.

Heath, radio broadcast from Barcelona – 17th July 1938:

“I did not quite know what I was going to find, as this was our first experience of actual warfare. I imagined we might come to a wrecked city and find a terror-stricken people, haggard and worn... with rioting and looting and feelings running high... What we did find surprised us all... Everything is perfectly normal, life is going on almost as usual... people thronging the streets, sitting in cafes, laughing and talking with far from long faces... the liberty of the individual has impressed me greatly... There are no secret courts here.

During the raids the same calmness and normal behaviour continues . . . people go quietly to a shelter, there is no sign of panic. But they realise what it all means, as people who have never seen them never can realise the destruction of defenceless men, women, and children, bombed in unprotected villages, is most ghastly. I have seen the planes 200 feet above my head, heard the bombs, and the village I had passed through five minutes before was in ruins. Yet still the morale of the people is untouched”.

Heath, on the Schuman Plan – 26th June 1950:
“I found that their attitude was governed entirely by political considerations. I believe there is a genuine desire on their part to reach agreement with France and with the other countries of Western Europe. I believe that in that desire the German government are genuine and I believe, too, that the German government would be prepared to make economic sacrifices in order to achieve those political results which they desire. I am convinced that, when the negotiations take place between the countries about the economic details, the German government will be prepared to make sacrifices ... I believe that these discussions would give us a chance of leading Germany into the way we want her to go. It was said long ago in the House that magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom.

I appeal tonight to the government to follow that dictum, and to go into the Schuman Plan to develop Europe and to coordinate it in the way suggested”.

Heath, Conservative Party election manifesto – 1970:
“Inflation is not only damaging to the economy ... it is a major cause of social injustice, always hitting hardest at the weakest and poorest members of the community . . . the main causes of rising prices are Labour's damaging policies of high taxation and devaluation ... the Labour government's own figures show that, last year, taxation and price increases more than cancelled any increase in incomes ... so wages started chasing prices up in a desperate and understandable attempt to improve living standards”.

Heath, speech in Cromer – July 1974
“I have always had in my mind's eye a vision about the people of this country . . . We are a great people and a great nation. We are one nation. One nation in which men and women of all creeds and all races can live together not in conflict but as neighbours. One nation in which the young know they will have their fair share of the opportunities and the elderly know they will have their fair share of the rewards.

One nation in which all those who work in industry share the same aim, of creating new prosperity for themselves and for the community. One nation which is ready to make a major contribution in Europe on terms that are fair and just. One nation the world will choose to listen to once more because it hears us speak with one voice. Because it sees us ordering our affairs with fairness and good sense. A nation worth listening to. A nation worth living in. That is what this government - your government - will achieve”.

Heath, Conservative Party election manifesto – 1974:
“Inflation is not only damaging to the economy ... it is a major cause of social injustice, always hitting hardest at the weakest and poorest members of the community . . . the main causes of rising prices are Labour's damaging policies of high taxation and devaluation ... the Labour government's own figures show that, last year, taxation and price increases more than cancelled any increase in income”.

"If politicians lived on praise and thanks they'd be forced into some other line of business"

"There are lots of people I've encouraged and helped to get into the House of Commons. Looking at them now, I'm not at all sure it was a wise thing to do"

"No-one knows better than a former patronage secretary [Chief Whip] the limitations of the human mind and the human spirit"