Chapter 15 Replacing the pianist in the first section

The Conservative Party has never been slow to find a scapegoat by replacing the tune by replacing the pianist.We lost by a narrow margin in the 1964 general election, and this approach was proven again.Anyone seriously concerned about the future of the Conservative Party will start to ponder whether the party's predicament is caused by an established tendency to use the weapons of totalism on the battlefield laid down by socialism.Then, and only then, after a second general election loss, almost inevitably, is the time to consider re-election of a leader.It was widely believed at the time that if the Labor Party was to deliver on its programme, it needed a larger enough majority for it to work.I had always hoped and naively believed that the Conservative Party would move on under Lillick Douglas-Home.I later learned that Ted Heath supporters and others eager to bring Alec down were active behind the scenes.But I never dared to go into that "smoking room", so by the time I knew what was going on with those mysterious cabals, it was too late.I was taken aback and saddened when Alec told the "1922 Committee" that he intended to retire to make way for others.And the obvious displeasure on his face made me even more frustrated.I keep saying to people, "Why didn't he let his supporters know earlier? Maybe we can help."

Reggie Maudlin and Ted Heath are considered to be the two real candidates for the leadership of the party.For the first time, who will be the party leader will be decided by a vote of MPs.Ian Macleod is considered too left-leaning, and many people think of him as "too smart" as Lord Salisbury taunted him.Although Enoch Powell had definitely proposed to run for the party leader, he did not have many supporters at the time.Of the two rivals, Ted and Reggie, Reggie Maudlin was thought to have the better chance of success, despite the strong, and to some extent justifiable, criticism he had drawn as chancellor. criticism.But Reggie's experience, ingenuity, and ability to control the council are beyond question.His main weakness, and one that became more pronounced in later years, was a certain laziness--a laziness often developed by people who know that they don't need any effort to be inherently smarter than those around them.

Ted's personality is completely different.He was thoughtful, organized, influential, at least on European issues that mattered more to him than anything else, and he was seen as a strong-willed, uncompromising man.As shadow chancellor, he had the opportunity to show his talents in attacking the 1965 Finance Act.The bill was then discussed in the House of Commons.People think Ted is more to the right than Reggie, but in party terms: they're both basically centrist.In dealing with European issues, we can see their different views.Reggie is more in favor of EFTA, while Ted believes membership in the European Economic Community is necessary.But their views on specific policies have little bearing on which side to support.

At first, I didn't have any particularly strong opinions on the matter.I'm familiar with both of them: Reggie Modlin is the MP for Barnet, which adjoins mine.Ted Heath and I had both been candidates for the Kent constituency and had known each other for a little longer.But now that I know Reggie better, I admire his poise as well as his sharp intellect.My relationship with Ted was by no means the adversarial one that developed in later years, but we were never close friends.Although we were not dissimilar in our backgrounds, without the education and social benefits of a traditional Conservative politician, we were two very different people.Of course Ted fought bravely in the war, and I was only a student at Somerville College.Ted's generation was deeply influenced by the rise of Nazism, fascism and appeasement in the 1930s.While I was also deeply influenced by it, it was very different from his.There were many prevailing ideas about what happened to the interwar world.It seems to me that Ted accepted many of these views with half-belief, and I feel that for Ted and many active advocates of total Europeanization, nationalism was the evil of the time, so it was Britain's responsibility to help create a universal The European system, which would replace the state, would provide another center of allegiance, and thus prevent war.Such grandiose ideas didn't appeal to me in the slightest.I think the chief cause of the conflict was the appeasement of dictators--a policy Ted had courageously opposed at Oxford; The spirit and unity of the English-speaking peoples is the best guarantee of peace.There are many aspects of Ted's character that I admire.But he wasn't attractive—and to be fair, he never wanted to be, he said.He was obviously much more comfortable talking to men than to women.But it wasn't just women who found it difficult to get along with him.I feel like I don't know him at all, and maybe I never will, even though I've known him for years.I didn't feel the slightest hostility from him then, just a lack of enthusiasm.Neither then nor since have I thought that a friendly and gentle disposition is an essential or even very important quality in a leader.After all consideration, I have decided to vote for Reggie Maudlin.

It was Keith Joseph who persuaded me to change my mind.Back then Keith was not just an old colleague I liked, but a friend.We had worked together on pension matters in 1964-1965 and he was, of course, a senior partner.Like anyone who knew him, I was struck by his deep thought and deep compassion.Like many people on the left, Keith entered politics for the same reason, namely, he wanted to improve the lives of ordinary people, especially those who he saw were displaced, poorly clothed, poorly educated, mentally retarded, etc. to a fully developed person.There are a lot of jokes about Keith, the best ones are Keith himself telling about how he changed his mind and changed his policies on issues like housing, health, social welfare, etc.But at their common core is his relentless search for the right answers to human suffering.So when he learned I was going to vote for Reggie, he called me to reconsider, and I took his words very seriously.Keith understands Reggie's weaknesses, and as a long-time colleague of Reggie's in the government and shadow cabinet, Keith sees Reggie's weaknesses clearly.But it was Ted's strength that he wanted to talk about, concluding: "Ted had a passion for saving Britain." Of course, Keith was like that, and so was I.

Keith's words helped me make up my mind.When I informed Reggie Maudlin and his private secretary, Neil Maarten, that I would be voting for Ted Heath; they were greatly disappointed and dismayed.Most people think about the same.There was no second ballot as Ted received a clear majority on the first ballot and Reggie withdrew. The new leader gave me a different position, and I'm still satisfied.So I moved from Shadow Pensions Spokesperson to Housing and Lands Spokesperson, still under my old boss John Boyd-Carpenter.I have always considered the knowledge I gained on the social security system to be crucial to my future as Prime Minister.I see these as various exercises for prime ministership.Although we were in opposition, it was not easy to oppose the huge increase in pensions and benefits of the Labor government - it was only later that the full fiscal impact of the Labor government's spending splurge became apparent.So, being transferred to Housing and Land Affairs was a huge relief for me.Here I can attack without hesitation one of the most ideologically charged socialist measures - the creation of land commissions as a means of achieving the consistent goal of socialists to enjoy the benefits of development for all.It was while in charge of this work) that I first fully experienced the complexities and anomalies in the system of setting rent standards, whose fate seemed to be inextricably bound up with mine.One of my early tasks was to work out how to reform council tax and to explain it to a Conservative party conference, which was full of misgivings about it.The reform we want to carry out is: let the central government bear part of the expenditure on the one hand, and implement a local tax rebate system on the other hand, and combine the two.This is the first time I've spoken at an annual meeting, and at least those who hear me will think I've hit the spot.But it would be an exaggeration to say that I have provided a satisfactory solution to the problem.It's just a respected win.