Chapter 35 In the third quarter, Ted put all his eggs in one basket

The Conservative Party manifesto, leaked to the press, was published early on Tuesday, September 10, about a week before the general election was called.When I was hosting the opening of the Chelsea Antiques Fair, I was amazed that a question was asked about this.Announcing a manifesto like this, especially when we have nothing new to offer, is never a good start to a campaign.However, it was clear from what the Shadow Cabinet was doing two days later that what really worried Heath and his inner circle was what Keith - and to a lesser extent me - might say, especially De issued an order: We can only talk about the manifesto and nothing else. Any play on fiscal policy must be discussed with the relevant spokesperson, the chairman of the Conservative Party and himself.Shadow cabinet members must focus particularly on issues for which they are responsible.Everyone understood who these words were directed at.

The following Wednesday it was officially announced that a general election would be held on Thursday 10 October.I've actually been campaigning for campaigns long before that.On Monday I spoke in the North West End in support of Fergus Montgomery, who was my wonderful Parliamentary Private Secretary (the eyes and ears of a former panelist in the House of Commons).On Tuesday, I was at a meeting of the Home Builders Federation to answer questions about our policy.All Wednesday I was doing an interview for a magazine called Choices Before Retirement.This incident came back to trouble me later on, as I shall explain below.On Thursday, the shadow cabinet again discussed the election extensively.The next day, Parliament was dissolved, MPs returned to their constituencies, and the election campaign officially began.

I've never been in front of the media as much as I have in this campaign.Labor recognized that the housing and council tax proposals were the only two attractive policies in our election manifesto, and they immediately began criticizing them. On Tuesday, September 24, Tony Crossland called both policies "a bunch of lies." (It was also at this press conference that Dennis Healy delivered his infamous statement that inflation was 8.4 percent on a three-month basis when the actual annual inflation rate was 17 percent. %.) To continue the debate, I immediately issued a statement rebutting the accusation so that attention would be drawn to our policy, and I said that night at Finchley that lowering mortgage rates would be an option for a new Conservative government one of the first actions.Then, to achieve the same goal, after consulting with Ted and shadow chancellor Robert Carr, I announced at a press conference at Central Headquarters on Friday morning that, if we win, lower mortgage rates could be "on Christmas".The next morning the major papers carried the news prominently and I was dubbed "Santa Thatcher".It is widely believed that we have taken the initiative for the first time in the campaign.By the following Monday, I was calling this a "firm, unshakable commitment" on the party's campaign radio show.And the harshness of politics is that, while I have reservations about the wisdom of making a pledge, we will have to do whatever it takes to deliver it.

That's when for the first time the way I presented housing and local tax policy contradicted for the first time the general approach Ted demanded in the campaign.At his insistence, I have made my proposed policy as specific as possible.But in the Manifesto, especially at the beginning, it is also intentionally expressed that the Conservative Party might consider some form of National Government and would therefore be flexible about the proposed policy, as follows: The Conservative Party, governed by no dogma, independent of any one interest, is broadly rooted throughout the country.Our aim is to win a clear majority in the House of Commons at this election.However, we must first use this majority to unite the whole country.We will not govern with narrow sectarianism.After victory, we will consult and talk with the leaders of other parties and other interest groups in the country to ensure that the policies of the country have the approval and support of all people with good intentions.We will invite people from outside the party to join us in overcoming the difficulties facing the UK.

One can envision these unspecified people who will join the Conservatives in policy work, including some right-wing members of the Labor Party and perhaps the Liberals.The latter has been openly campaigning for a coalition government.Statements like this make me very uneasy.Not only that, but I dislike coalition government as much as Disraeli's Prime Minister dislikes England.Specifically, such claims undermine the credibility of my assurances in my area of ​​responsibility.What trade-offs these promises will be made between the parties, who can tell? Ted told a Conservative Party press conference on Friday 2 October that he would be willing as prime minister to draw non-Conservatives into a government that included "all talent" (party and talent are considered synonymous here ).The tension between explicit assurances and implicit flexibility threatens to render our election campaign meaningless and divide shadow chancellors.

We are now in our final week.I still can't believe we're going to win.Polls have shown that we have fallen far behind since the campaign began.But I feel that my housing and local tax policies have proved to be political victories, despite criticism in leading newspapers.I also thought that with the remaining few days of work, and taking advantage of the current ambiguity towards the Nationalist government, we might be able to muddle through. On Thursday, I campaigned in the London area, continuing my vigorous defense of our housing policy, while attacking urbanisation, which allows "socialism to creep in".Ted asked me to meet him on Wilton Street that night.His advisors have apparently been pushing him to go one step further.Ask him to start talking about the possibility of a coalition government.Because it was known that I was adamantly opposed to it for strategic, tactical reasons, and because I was going to be appearing on the Upampton radio show "Answering Questions" the next night, I was called in to tell me about the new approach.Ted said he was now going to call for a government of national unity which was clearly what "the people" wanted and I was furious after all he himself insisted that I be as specific as possible on housing and local tax policy but now when the campaign runs almost Towards the end, he threw away the promises made in the manifesto, because he found that it seemed more likely that he would return to Downing Street.

Anyway, I can't see why he's thinking of himself as a possible coalition leader.Ted at this time was the figure who caused the discord, although he himself was convinced that he represented the "consensus". "Consensus" is not consistent with his past actions, it is against his character, and it is not how other people judge him.And I myself was by no means prepared to roll back the policies I had been advocating at his insistence, and I left very unhappy. On the "Answering Questions" radio program, I conceded that if we couldn't get a clear majority, perhaps a coalition government would be needed.But my condition is that I myself will never work in a government with a leftist like Michael Foote or Tony Benn.It might be added that the odds of Keith Joseph and I participating in a coalition of good and good men are slim—indeed, not much more likely than that of Ted.

The final days of the campaign have been dominated by embarrassing questions about talking about a coalition government.At the Conservative Party's final press conference on Tuesday 7 October, I stuck to my terms of reference, sitting next to Ted Heath and repeating the promises in the manifesto.The results of the election two days later showed that while voters were generally willing to give a minority Labor government a chance to govern effectively, there was still a great deal of distrust in them.Labor ended up with a three-vote majority, which is unlikely to keep them in power to the end of their term.The Conservatives ended up with 277 seats to Labour's 319, and the Conservatives could have fared worse, but it's hardly an indication that voters agree with our approach.