Edward Heath was
educated at Chatham School, Ramsgate, and
Balliol College, Oxford. At university he
was active in Conservative politics, and
president of the Oxford Union. During World
War Two he served in the Royal Artillery.
Heath won the constituency
of Bexley for the Conservatives in 1950.
His maiden speech concerned European unity
an issue, which was to figure prominently
in his career.
Quickly appointed to the
Whips Office, he held the post of Chief Whip
from 1955-59, and as such was credited with
keeping the parliamentary party together
during the Suez Crisis.
In 1960 Heath was appointed
Minister for Labour, and later Lord Privy
Seal with responsibility for negotiating
EC entry. De Gaulle's
veto of British membership was a bitter blow
in 1963.
The Prime Minister, Alec
Douglas-Home, subsequently made him
President of the Board of Trade. His competence
and success there helped Heath's prospects
for the leadership, which he won in 1965,
aged 49. It was then unusual for a Conservative
leader not to be upper class, and it was
hoped that a middle class leader would
change the party's image in the face of Harold
Wilson's down-to-earth Labour party.
In Opposition Heath proposed
an agenda of trade union reform, tax cuts
and spending restraints. However, in government
from 1970-74 the steep rises in the price
of commodities and oil forced Heaths administration
to rescue businesses and adopt price and
incomes policies to combat inflation.
Heath's term in office
also featured industrial action and the deployment
of troops in Northern Ireland. One notable
achievement was that Heath was finally able
to lead Britain into EC membership, a long-held
ambition.
In February 1974 the Conservatives
lost the election, despite winning more votes
than Labour overall. A second defeat in October
seriously damaged Heath's position. He was
defeated in a leadership contest in 1975
by Margaret Thatcher.
He has been active in defending
One Nation Toryism ever since. He was a fierce
critic of the Thatcher governments, and continues
his vocal opposition to the Eurosceptic wing
of the Conservative party in the Commons.
He represented Old Bexley & Sidcup in
the House of Commons, and was Father of the
House from 1992-2001. |
