Chapter 6 Chapter One

If entering Oxford was a surprise, leaving Oxford was another shock.In Oxford, I made many like-minded friends. I enjoyed exploring the field of chemistry and was keen on campus politics.It was a pain to say goodbye to all of this. In order to help recent graduates find suitable jobs, Oxford University has newly established a career introduction committee. The committee arranged for me to participate in interviews with several units, one of which was a factory of Imperial Chemical Company in the north. The location I think is about in Billingham.Several managers interviewed us job applicants and wrote comments to the general manager.The general manager finally interviewed us.During my interview, I found my managers' written comments lying on the desk, and I couldn't resist peeking across the desk.Some of these comments are encouraging to me, while others are disturbing.One manager wrote: "This woman has a strong personality and is not suitable for this job." I have participated in three or four such interviews, and although I did not succeed, I like this test very much.Not just because I was brought into a new industrial world, but also because the examiners were polite and willing to listen to each one about their personal aspirations and aspirations.I ended up being hired by the Research and Development department of BX Plastics in Manningtree, near Colchester. BX Plastics manufactures a range of industrial and consumer plastic products, including film.

Few people like the beginning stage of a new job, and I am no exception; when I first interviewed the person in charge of the company, I understood that my position was probably the personal assistant of the director of research and development.I have been looking forward to this position, because I think this position will allow me to learn more about how the company works, and to use my chemical knowledge and other talents.But when I reported for work, the company said there weren't many jobs for that position, so I put on my white smock again and plunged headfirst into the colorful world of plastic.The research and development department has just been established as an independent department, and everything is difficult at the beginning.But by Christmas Eve 1947, I had a friend or two and it was much easier, and my superiors helped me through this.Research and Development has also moved to a rather nice house near Lawford.Like many others in the company, I also live in Colchester.I've grown to like the town, I've found comfortable accommodation in the town, and the shuttle picks us up to work in Lawford every day.

As before, I cannot do without politics.After working, I immediately joined the local Conservative Party Association and actively participated in various activities of the party.I especially enjoy participating in a discussion group called the "39-45" discussion group.Conservatives who participated in World War II gathered there to exchange views with each other and express their views on various political topics at the time.I also try to keep in touch with old friends like Edward Boyle as much as possible.Edward was later elected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Birmingham constituency seat in the 1950 general election, and in October 1948 I attended the Llandonne Conservative Party Annual Conference as a representative of the Oxford Graduate Conservative Party Association.The Alumni Association would have liked me to address the General Assembly, seconding a motion by the Alumni Association expressing regret for the removal of the University's seat in Parliament.At that time university graduates had their own seats in parliament and they had the right to vote at their university in addition to voting in the constituency in which they lived. (I support special seats for universities, but not double voting for university graduates. I think graduates should be given the option to vote at the university or in the constituency where they live).It was supposed to be my first speech at the Conservative party conference, but then a gentleman from the city became a seconder because the city seat would also be removed.

My disappointment at not being able to speak dissipated quickly, and in a way I hadn't expected.Once, after I participated in a seminar, I discussed with others what I wanted to do in the future.Young people often talk about such topics.A friend from Oxford, John Grant, said he thought I would want to be an MP someday. "Well, yes," I replied, "but not much hope, at the moment I have little chance of being elected as a candidate for Parliament." I should also have said at the time that I had no income other than my salary to afford a seat at all.I didn't even try to get on the shortlist of people who wanted to stand in the congressional elections.

later the same day.John Grant happened to be sitting with John Miller, chairman of the Dartford Conservative Association.At that time, the association was looking for a candidate.Later, I learned that their conversation went like this: "I know you are still looking for a candidate for Dartford." (The general election must be held by 1950 at the latest, and it may be earlier, and Dartford No candidate has yet been found, causing Conservative Central Headquarters great anxiety.) "Yes, any suggestions?" "There's a young woman, Margaret Roberts, who you might meet, she's very nice."

"Is it? But Dartford is an industrial town, and I don't think a woman can do it." "Of course, you're an expert. But why not meet her first?" They agreed to meet with me.On Saturday I was invited to lunch at the Llandonau Quay Restaurant with John Miller, his wife Fay and Mrs Fletcher, Chairperson of the Dartford Women's Society. They presumably took issue with a woman's candidacy for Dartford MP.Even so, they liked the man they met, and I got on well with them.The Millers later became close friends of mine.Mrs. Fletcher was very personable, and I soon developed an admiration for her.After lunch we walked back along the pier to find a good seat and listen to party leader Winston Churchill give a speech.It's been a week since the conference, and it's the first time we've seen him.At that time, the party leader did not attend the annual meeting, only showing up at the final rally on Saturday.Naturally, his speech focused on foreign affairs.Because the Soviet Union blocked Berlin at that time, the West airlifted daily supplies to West Berlin.His message is somber.He said only US nuclear weapons could protect Europe from communist violence and warned that a third world war seemed horribly upon us.

It wasn't until December that I received a call from Dartford to interview at the Conservative Party's central headquarters in Ridge Street, not far from Parliament.Like many other hopefuls, on Thursday night, December 30th, I sat in front of the selection committee's tile for the first time in my life.Few non-political people understand how nerve-wracking and unsettling such an occasion can be.Interviewees who don't feel nervous are likely to perform poorly.Because anyone who knows chemistry will tell you that if you want to perform well, your adrenals need to flow.I was lucky to have a few people around the table who were more friendly to me, which, of course, can be both good and bad for a young woman trying to get into politics on an occasion like this.

I passed this interview and they also informed me to go to Dartford for the next interview. On Monday, January 31, 1949, I was invited to address the Dartford City Conservative Association Executive Committee, which consisted of about 50 people, at the Bull Hotel, Dartford.Like the other 5 interviewees, I had to give a 15-minute speech and then 10 minutes to answer questions. It was those problems that were more likely to give me trouble.Many people at the time had strong prejudices against women candidates, especially women running for seats in industrial towns like Dartford.There is no doubt that this is a man's world, even angels dare not set foot.Then, of course, the Conservatives have little hope of winning the seat.Of course, even if, like Ebbwehr, the Labor Party is considered to be sure to win the seat, the Conservatives who enter the candidate race will not say that the Conservative Party has little chance of winning.In Finchley, the Labor MP has 20,000 votes more than the Conservative MP candidate, a gap that is hard to close, but perhaps this fact, which no one wants to reveal, works in my favour.Why not risk a young Margaret Roberts as a candidate?The Conservatives have nothing to lose, and much more good publicity to do.

The surest sign that a political campaign is successful is that you feel okay.That night at Dartford, I felt it was going well and it turned out to be justified in my confidence and I was picked.After the meeting, I stayed for dinner with the cadres of the association.Because not only is the candidate relieved, but the selector can stop being a critic and become a friend of the candidate.I feel a little foggy, but happy.People gave me a lot of advice as a young candidate, promised me many things, and offered to help me.These kind gestures provide part of the answer to politicians who are often asked "Why on earth did you do that?"

The next step is to seek approval from the party headquarters.The general procedure should be that candidates first obtain the approval of the party and then participate in the selection process.But when I went to Central Headquarters the day after I was selected by the committee to meet with Miss Marjorie Maxey, the chairwoman of the women, I encountered no difficulty.A few weeks later, I was invited to a dinner with the party chairman, Lord Woolton, the vice-chairman, J.P.L Thomas, Miss Maxi, and the district agent, Beryl, Miss Cook.In the years that followed, Marjorie Maxey and Beryl Cook became my staunch supporters and gave me many helpful suggestions.

After selection.The next step is formal appointment.The formal appointment meeting is the candidate's first opportunity to make a good impression on the society as a whole, so such occasions carry psychological importance.It was also an opportunity to make a local presence as the local press was invited, but the most important thing for me was my father's presence.This was the first time my father and I stood on the same podium and spoke at the same meeting.Dad talked about how his family had always supported the Liberals, and now it was the Conservatives who carried the old Liberal banner.The subject of my talk was somewhat Gladstoneian in content and not quite in form (length).I strongly advocate that "government should do what any housewife worth her salt does when money is tight - check her own accounts and find out what's wrong". After the official appointment meeting at the end of February, I was invited by the Sowalds, two dignitaries of the Dartford Conservative Association, to a dinner they had arranged for me.Their house is in Ellis, Dartford constituency, not far from the Atlas Preservatives company of which Thorward is a director.The company manufactures paints and chemical products.Thorward's boss, the general manager of the company attended my official appointment meeting, and was also one of the dinner guests. That's how I met Dennis. As soon as I met Dennis, I immediately felt that he was an unusual person. He knew politics at least as much as I did, and he knew more about economics.With his professional interest in paint and mine in plastics, it might seem like this friendship lacked a romantic basis, but these shared interests quickly led to a mutual interest in science.From the dinner that night I found his views to be purely conservative. After dinner, Dennis drove me back to London in time for the midnight train back to Colchester.Driving at night, the travel time is not long, but it is enough for me to discover that we have a lot in common. Dennis loves reading, especially history, biography and detective novels.He seemed to have read every article in The Economist and The Banker.We also found out that we both like music: Dennis likes opera and I like vocals. Since then, we have seen each other regularly at events in the constituency and frequently on other occasions.He has a unique style, sharpness, preference for fast cars, and drives a "Jaguar".He is ten years older than me and more worldly than me.In the beginning, we met and talked about politics, but as we met more and more, we also went to see plays, or had dinner together.Like any other lover, we also have our favorite restaurants.A typical appointment is to a small pasta shop in Soho.Dates with special significance go to the "White Tower" in Fitzrovia, the French restaurant on Zemey Street and the "Green Vine".Dennis is very attentive and considerate, which makes me very happy.The Christmas after my first election campaign in Dartford, Dennis gave me a very fancy gift, a crystal compact with a silver cap.I cherish this gift to this day.At this point, I began to think that Dennis was serious. We could have gotten married soon, and since I love politics and he loves football, we've always had things to do on Saturdays and we can't date.But to make up for the lack of appointments, he has been a huge help to my constituency.As soon as there is a problem, it will be solved immediately, and all the logistical chores will be arranged by him thoughtfully.In fact, his proposal and our engagement unwittingly helped me politically.The day before the election, Beryl Cook broke the news of my engagement without my knowledge, hoping to give it a final vote. I had given serious thought to Dennis's proposal for a long time. Before, I had been so preoccupied with politics that I hadn't really included marriage in my plans.Therefore, I didn't think about it. I only thought that one day the marriage problem would be solved naturally.I know that Dennis was married before World War II, and the marriage broke up after the war. He must have thought carefully about asking me to be his wife. The more I think about it, the more I know what to do.Only one answer was possible, and I feel today, more than 40 years later, that deciding to say "yes" was one of the best decisions I ever made. For some time I had been thinking of leaving BX Plastics and Colchester.When I was a candidate for Dartford, I felt that I should find a new job in London.I've told the selection committee that I'm going to run with all my might, and I really want to.Personally, I'm not half-hearted.So I started looking for a job in London, which should be around £500 a year.Although this amount was not large at that time, it was enough to make my life more comfortable if the requirements were not high.I have interviewed for several organizations and found that employers are less willing to hire someone who has left their previous job to pursue politics.I will never hide my political pursuit, let alone give it up, so I continue to look for other jobs.Finally, I was hired as a food research chemist by the laboratory of J. Lyons & Co. in Hammersmith.The work is more theoretical, so I am more satisfied with this position than with BX Plastics. Soon after, I moved to new accommodation in the constituency of Dartford.In fact, Dartford became my home in every way.My landlord's family couldn't be more caring.It is their nature to be friendly to people, and they are both staunch supporters of the Conservative Party.The Millers also took good care of me.After meetings in the evening, I often go to their house to drink coffee and relax.I used to spend weekends with them when I was working and living in Colchester.The family is harmonious and peaceful, as if everyone wants to enjoy life to the fullest, because the hard times of the war are over.We also regularly go to events, political or not, and the ladies are always well-groomed and well dressed.John Miller's mother has passed away, and his father, who lives with the Millers and his wife, is a good friend of mine.Every time there is a party, he will send me a pink carnation for me to stick on my clothes. I regularly drive to other constituencies in North Kent.Dartford, Bexley Heath (Ted Heath is a candidate), Chislehurst (Pat Hornsby-Smith) and Gravesend (John Lowe) four The constituencies work closely together, with Maurice Wheeler chairing four constituencies.From time to time he invites us to his house for gatherings.His house "Franks" is huge, in Holden Kirby. At the time, Dartford's seat was the hardest to win of the four constituencies, and so, no doubt, the least important in the eyes of its neighbors, although Dartfordites didn't see it that way.Politically, it makes sense to link constituencies that are sure to win with those that have no hope of winning.By building active groups in constituencies with no hope of winning, you are likely to draw some of your rival's supporters away from the political ground you hope to keep.That was part of what Central Headquarters wanted us to do to help Ted Heath keep his winnable seat in Bexley. In this way, I met Ted.He was the candidate for Bexley, and Central Headquarters wanted me to speak in his constituency.Ted has become more famous.He participated in World War II and was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel.His political experience began in the late 1930s when he supported an anti-Munich Agreement candidate in the Oxford by-election, earning him the respect of Central Headquarters and four constituency associations.He is very straightforward and logical, and he can always list 4 targets or 5 methods of attack.As soon as we met, his personality left a deep impression on me.On the one hand he is very friendly with the constituency staff, but on the other hand he is always the leader, the "candidate", or the "Member", which makes one feel that even at his most amiable, there is something special about him. Self-admiration. Pat Hornsby-Smith, the candidate for his neighboring constituency of Chislehurst, is quite different.Ebullient and dynamic, she was a star-studded female politician, and in 1946 she rocked the Conservative Party Conference with a provocative right-wing speech.Always happy to help younger colleagues, she travels the country speaking.She and I became very good friends, and we often had long political conversations at informal dinner parties she threw. Before the 1950 election, we felt the Conservative Party starting to regain strength.This recovery was not so much the result of the rethinking of its policies within the Conservative Party as it was the result of strong opposition from the Conservative Party and the people of the country to the socialism advocated by the Attlee government.Aneurin Bevan described the Conservative Party as "rats are worse" in July 1948, and a young Conservative like myself took advantage of the British tradition of self-mockery and self-deprecation to show loyalty to the party .We wear a "bad rat" badge when we go out and it's a little blue mouse.Whoever recruits 10 party members wears a badge.These people are called "bad rats".Whoever recruits 20 party members becomes a "big rat".In this way, the party members are naturally divided into several classes.There was a man who lived somewhere in Twickenham who was "canonized" as the "Rat King". I'm a big admirer of Clement Attlee.He was serious and a patriot.Unlike politicians in the 1990s, Attlee focused on substance and never grandstanding.His government is indeed radical and eager for reform. The Labor Party manifesto of 1945 was a very left document.It seems clearer now.The war had just ended, and the planning and state control that everyone was talking about were wartime terms, so people couldn't really grasp the full impact.In effect, planning and state control are an all-out assault on business, capitalism, and markets.The underlying theoretical premise of this view is, "It is doubtful that we are using our productive capacity to the fullest except during times of war. We must rectify this situation." The view is that only states have the ability to decide where resources are spent and not used Where is more in the national interest.Nationalization, control, planning are proposed not only or not primarily on social grounds, but on economic grounds.It is believed that harmful monopoly exists only in the private sector.Therefore, the reason for the nationalization of the iron and steel industry is "only when public ownership replaces private monopoly can the iron and steel industry be efficient."Perhaps the most radical of these was Labour's approach to the land.Labor has made it clear that forced land acquisitions by local authorities are only the beginning of a more comprehensive plan, as "Labor advocates nationalizing land and will work towards it". The Labor government has been bold in delivering on the specific promises it made in its election manifesto.Nobody doubts Labour's record on socialism.The targets of the attacks on the Labor Party are clearly the economic consequences of socialism: currency debasement and renewed inflation.Huge public spending brought the standard rate of income tax almost equal to the wartime rate of 9 shillings per pound.Instead of being abolished, wartime controls were extended, such as the rationing of bread in 1946 and potatoes a year later.So the 1950 election campaign revolved around these issues, which were extremely dangerous to any government in power at the time, and which I managed well enough to combine high theoretical themes with more practical "bread and butter" problems combined. The Conservative Manifesto of 1950 was an ingenious document, both a powerful theoretical and practical critique of socialism and a series of carefully specific pledges to change the status quo.It highlights the consequences of inflation, disorganized economic management, waste and bureaucracy.I was particularly pleased with the manifesto's crisp formulation of foreign policy. But the Conservatives have also been careful not to commit to an immediate end to rationing, or mass denationalization, or to do anything potentially controversial with regard to social security or the health service.The manifesto referred to the trade union "movement" several times in positive terms, describing it as "essential to the proper functioning of our economic and industrial life".We all know that the three areas we are likely to be most vulnerable to attack are unemployment (voters remember the high unemployment rate in the 1930s, but don't remember that it had climbed under the second Labor government, and unemployment during the National government rates have fallen), the welfare state (which many think we want to abolish), and so-called "warmonger" rhetoric (the flexible line of the Labor government may make Churchill's rhetoric on the Cold War seem extreme rather than prescient - Churchill's judgment is indeed rich vision).These were issues that I frequently addressed at public rallies during the 1950 and 1951 election campaigns. The weeks of the 1950 campaign were the most exhausting for me.Many things are new to me, and newbies always lack stamina.Unlike elections today, public rallies were well attended almost every night.Therefore, I have to find time during the day to prepare the speech for the evening.I would also like to write letters to voters to enlist their support.Most of the afternoon is spent lobbying door to door, and sometimes, preaching with loudspeakers can be regarded as a little relaxation.My family has helped me a lot.My father came to speak, and my sister also came to help. Before the general election, Mrs Williams (wife of Sir Herbert Williams, veteran tariff reformer and long-time MP for Croydon) advised candidates to dress in a certain way when campaigning so that everyone could interact with each other. know.I took her advice very seriously and bought a black campaign suit and hat from Byrne and Hollingworth on Oxford Street.I'm wearing this suit and that hat to the campaign.For easier identification, I also tied a black and white ribbon around the hat with a blue knot. Of course, whether such care is necessary is another matter.How many 24-year-old women are there to give a speech standing on a soap box in Alice Mall?At that time, women candidates mostly did not go to factories to lobby.But I went, both inside and outside the factory, and the welcome was always warm and sometimes noisy.Socialists in Dartford were on edge until their candidate, incumbent MP Norman Dodds, was treated in the same way.I just don't like going to taverns, and I would never go by myself.Certain fears are difficult to overcome. I'm lucky to have someone like Norman Dodds running against me.He was a pure, chivalrous; Japanese socialist.He knew he was going to win, so he was generous enough to give me, an ambitious woman with a different perspective than he had, a chance.Shortly after I officially became a candidate, he offered to debate me in the Great Hall of the local grammar school, a challenge I jumped at.He and I made speeches respectively, then answered questions, and finally made concluding remarks.Each side has its own supporters, and it is very noisy.During the campaign, we had another equally heated close debate.The fact that people are only arguing about relevant issues and facts rather than personal attacks makes for an interesting debate.At one point, a national newspaper reported that Norman Dodds thought I was beautiful, but had little chance of winning, and poor intelligence.This good socialist gentleman wrote me right away to say that he hadn't said those words - or at least not said the last part. My public meetings are always crowded.Due to the large number of people, it is not uncommon to close the doors of the venue 20 minutes before the start of the conference.Of course, being a woman at that time had an advantage in itself, that people had a basic courtesy to me that we could take advantage of, which feminists have largely decimated today.Once, I went to a certain place in the constituency to attend a public meeting, and found that Lord Balfour, the former Minister of the Air Force who was speaking at the meeting, was criticized by some questioners.I told the organizers not to let the police come.As expected, as soon as I stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak, the commotion in the audience began to subside and order, if not real harmony, was largely restored. I've also been lucky to have received national and even international media attention as a candidate.At only 24 years old, I was the youngest woman candidate to run in the 1950 election campaign.That in itself is a topic for comment.Some newspapers have asked me to write about the role of women in politics.My photos have appeared in Life magazine and the London Picture News. The London Picture News, read by many big men in politics, also had my picture in the West German papers, where they called me "Miss Glamor" (perhaps for the last time). I invented two slogans, not very subtle, very straightforward.One is "vote for the right, keep what's left", and the other is more targeted, "don't be rotten, drive out the incompetent".Even at that time, I never talked about ideology in my speech.Speaking at a meeting in the church hall in Rowfield Street, I said: "We are engaged in one of the greatest battles this country has ever fought - a battle between two ways of life. One will inevitably lead to slavery, the other to freedom. Our opponents are trying to convince you that conservatism is The privilege of the few. And conservatism protects all that is great and good in our national heritage. What is the most fundamental principle of conservatism? That is national unity. We stand for the unity of the nation, not one class against another .You cannot build a great nation or a homeland of humanity by spreading envy and hatred." "Our policy is not based on envy or hatred, it is based on the freedom of every individual. Repression is not our policy, our policy is to encourage success, to encourage hard work. In 1940, this country rose up against Despotism does not demand nationalization, but freedom." When I heard the results of the Dartford count at my local grammar school, I felt that all the hard work was worth it.I shaved 6,000 votes off Labour's advantage.In the early hours of the morning before the results of the national election, Lord Camrose invited parliamentary candidates, MPs, ministers, opposition figures and celebrities to a Daily Telegraph party he gave at the Savoy Hotel.I am here to learn the results of the national election with mixed joy and some sadness.Happily, the Conservative Party reduced the Labor Party's advantage in parliament from 146 to 5 seats.Sadly, the Conservative Party has yet to win the election. Here I should mention a special experience I had as a candidate for Dartford.I was once invited to officiate at a Conservative Party fund-raiser in Orpington.Some people advised me to do fortune-telling, and I reluctantly agreed.Some fortune tellers love crystal balls, and this fortune teller clearly loves jewelry.He told me to take off my pearl necklace and let him feel it for instructions from the gods.The fortune teller's conclusion is of course very optimistic. He said: "You will be great, as great as Churchill." Most politicians are a bit superstitious, and I am no exception, but I still think he said something ridiculous.Of course, people want good luck, so anything that might bring some good luck is welcome.Since then, I thought my pearl would bring me good luck.My pearls seem to prove it.