Chapter 38 Section 1 Formation of the Shadow Cabinet

My first task was to organize the shadow cabinet.I met Humphrey Atkins, the Overseer of Parliament, in the chambers of the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, where I enjoyed a fine meal prepared by his wife Magee.Of course, Humphrey Atkins was Ted's appointee, and he did not state his side in the leadership race.He was a lovable and malleable man, and as a parliamentary warden he was well-informed, a quality that was so important for high-level political appointments.I told Humphrey that I didn't want to replace the entire crew, even though I felt I had some sort of debt to people like Keith Joseph and Irene Neve.After the bitter struggle with Ted, to maintain the unity of the party must give it enough continuity.

However, the more we talked, the more we realized that all other arrangements depended on Ted.During the leadership campaign, I made a public commitment to give him the chance to choose one of the three Shadow Cabinet jobs, or an empty one, if he wanted to serve under me.In fact, I wished in my heart that he would not accept such kindness at all.None of us know how long his hurt feelings will last, but it's hard to imagine Ted following Alec Douglas-Home's footsteps and becoming a faithful and excellent member of his successor's team.Anyway, the papers were already saying that Ted had no intention of serving, but I had to find out for myself.I had planned to see him that evening, but after much deliberation I decided it would be better for Humphrey to go first.Humphrey sounded out Ted, got the impression that those speculations about his intentions were accurate, and reported them to me.But I had already spoken of the offer, and next morning I drove to Ted's house in Wilton Street to mention it in person.

Tim Kitson, Ted's private parliamentary secretary, led me into a downstairs study facing the garden.Ted was sitting at his desk.He didn't get up, and I sat down without waiting to give up my seat.No courtesy.I could guess what he thought of recent events and myself.I asked him if he would like to join the Shadow Pavilion, but he didn't mention a specific position.He said no, he was going to carry on as a backbencher.The conversation actually ended there.For my part, I have no intention of prolonging the meeting.I knew it must be painful for him, maybe even humiliating.But I also knew that if I had moved right through the crowd of reporters and left Wilton Street, the midday news would have been filled with stories of coldness and disagreement between us.Besides, I hadn't finished my coffee yet, so I digressed a little and asked him what he thought of Labor's promise of a referendum on Britain's remaining in the European Union, and in particular whether he was willing to lead the Conservatives in doing so. event.He still said no.So far I have done my best to unite Ted and ensure that the termination of this meeting is not too sudden.But it was only about five minutes before I left Ted's study.So Tim Kitson (who was also aware of the potential for bad publicity) and I stalled for another 15 minutes of small talk before I left the house.Out of respect for Ted's personal confidence—that's what I think—I didn't even tell Irene Neve, who was setting up my office, about this conversation.I later made this public only to clarify the relevant records.I went back to the House of Commons and told Humphrey Atkins that Ted really didn't want to join the Shadow Court.

Then Robert Carr, who had been acting leader of the party during the leadership campaign, wanted to see me.Of course, he has always been close to Ted and is considered a figure representing the totalist trend of thought in the party.I could totally understand if he wasn't interested in serving under me.Sure enough, when I met him he made it clear that the only job he would accept was Shadow Foreign Secretary.I said I couldn't make such a guarantee.One of the reasons is that I don't want to be tied up before I have fully considered the composition of the whole team; I am not yet sure whether there will actually be a place for Robert Carr in the Shadow Court.

But, there must be Willie Whitelaw.His popularity has been demonstrated in leadership elections.With his vast experience, he can convince many backbenchers that progress, not revolution, is the order of the day.We probably all felt that each other could be solid political partners with complementary strengths and weaknesses.Although I could not offer him a specific position at the time, when I later asked Willie to be Deputy Party Leader, he accepted.And his loyalty is not only shown in this matter, he has been loyal from the beginning.As I walked into the lobby to hear Harold Wilson make a statement, there was a machismo yell, "Kiss one, Maggie (Margaret's nickname)!" and all that.I sat in the front row between Willie and Robert Carr, Jim Pryor, Jeffrey Howe and John Payton's other failed leadership challenger - all there too, but Ted wasn't there.I accepted the Prime Minister's stinging and stinging congratulations, and my reply was rarely wise, and Harold Wilson was still at his best in Parliament.As I listened to him, I wondered how, as the leader of a turbulent and deeply divided party, as a woman struggling to gain dominance in a noisy, tumultuous world of men, I could see what the future would bring. It is difficult.Later facts proved this to be the case.

I chaired the Shadow Pavilion meeting for the first time that night.There was an air of unreality in the room, because none of the people present had been reappointed, and some of them were no longer reappointed.On behalf of the Shadow Court, Quentin Hailsham congratulates me and pledges his allegiance and cooperation.I feel at least he might be sincere.I said Willie had agreed to be Deputy Leader and Ted had turned down my offer of the Shadow Cabinet.Wiley immediately stated that he accepted the position of deputy leader and looked forward to serving in that capacity.These ceremonies signaled a non-disarming truce between competing viewpoints and individuals.

The next evening I attended the 1922 Committee meeting for the first time as leader.At the time I was on much better terms with this much larger parliamentary group than with the Shadow Cabinet.When I walked into the venue, everyone stood up.Edward Dukan sent me an unsigned Valentine's Day card (a day early).I later placed it with other Valentine's Day cards and roses that had been remitted to Fllard Street.In the 1922 committee speech, the most important thing was the mood and demeanor of the leader, not the content of the speech.This time, however, everyone seemed to like what I was saying too - namely, to make Conservative policies clear from socialists, to return to traditional values ​​of independence and self-help, and to challenge the assumption that the growth of the left is irreversible .I sat down amidst applause, thumping, and the gruff voice of approval of the Conservative Parliamentary Caucus.

In the next few days, I spent all my time meeting with reporters, discussing my office arrangements, and handling long-delayed constituency business.Rarely have the opportunity to sit down with Humphrey and Willie to discuss the Shadow Court selection.I also always want to use Zhou Wei to make the final decision.Yet delays always arouse suspicion.There are reports that there is a battle to prevent Keith Joseph from becoming Shadow Chancellor.In fact, he never asked for this position, nor did I give it to him. My organization of the Shadow Chamber was facilitated by Peter Thomas and Geoffrey Rippon stating that they did not want to succeed.This means that two more vacancies are available.I spent Saturdays and Sundays on Fllard Street working out the list and also working with Humphrey and Willie on some specific issues.The appointment was confirmed through a series of meetings with colleagues in my Commons office on Monday.

Willie was the first to come in.I briefed him on the situation, including the issue of devolution - as a former overseer of parliament and a Scot who represents a constituency in England, he may have a solution to the political difficulties that have arisen in this regard.Next, I met with Keith Joseph and asked him to continue to be in charge of policy and research in the Shadow Pavilion.In a sense, Willie and Keith are two important characters.One is my policy arm, and the other is the decision-making think tank in the leadership team.I also think that for the idea of ​​a free enterprise economy to become more widely understood and accepted, Ketchum must continue his ideological reform movement at the Center for Policy Studies.I have no illusions that my victory in the leadership election is a global transformation.Our ability to change party policy (as a first step towards changing government) depends on our ability to use our current position to change minds.Unfortunately, as Keith whirls through the university, he finds that among his leftist audience with open flames, the militant-minded are more prepared than the cynics of his colleagues.

My next visitor is Reggie Maudlin.I suspect he was as surprised as the press when I made him Shadow Foreign Secretary, despite his public offer to serve.Although the move was widely praised at the time, it was not a good appointment.I have always admired Reggie's caliber and regretted that he had to resign in 1972 because of the Poulsen affair.Plus, having Reggie back in charge of foreign affairs seemed like a convincing tribute to those who compared Ted's sophistication to my inadequacy.But it soon turned out that Reggie was not prepared to change his views, that is, more broadly, he had a disdain for the monetarist line that Keith and I wanted to pursue, only slightly glossed over.I would have been better off appointing someone who shared my instincts on defense and foreign policy.

Then there is another man whose temperament is even less congenial to mine is Ian Gilmer.I think he prepared for the worst when he learned I was going to see him.He had been a strong supporter of Ted, and there was little good evidence that his removal would be politically costly.But I value his wisdom.I think he'll be useful, just keep him out of economic jobs.Although he later became known as a pioneer who advocated "reflation", neither his quality nor his character was suitable for him to engage in economic work.I asked him to be the Minister of the Interior of the Shadow Cabinet. Michael Heseltine, who came in to meet me next, was much more extroverted than Ian in character, although they shared many points of view.He was also a long-time supporter of Heath, but there is always a sense that the cause he most ardently advocated for was himself.My campaign is convinced that he was an abstainer in the first round of leadership contests.To tell the truth, he was always open about his ambitions.I ask him to stay on as Shadow Industry Minister.It's an exciting position for him.The position puts him at the best of his abilities for the Conservative Party, as it leaves him to fight the major nationalization proposals of Labour's policy.What I did not fully grasp at the time was the extent to which he believed ideologically in an interventionist line that I did not accept.I returned to my office in Parliament after my first public speech as a leader at the National Chamber of Commerce's SME Entrepreneurs Luncheon to continue planning for the formation of the Shadow Cabinet.I invite Peter Carrington to remain Speaker of the House of Lords.Likewise, I have no illusions about the positions Peter takes within Conservative political circles: he doesn't think in the same way as I do.Of course he had been in Ted's circle, involved in the political response to the miners' strike and the February 1974 election.Since we lost government, he has become a recognized and extremely capable Speaker of the House of Lords, and he has extensive diplomatic experience as a former Defense Secretary and international businessman.It is recognized that he has the potential to be the opposite of me on economic policy in the cabinet.But he never let economic differences prevent him from carrying out his general duties.He brings poise, experience, intelligence and -- maybe I'm not getting it politically correct -- a touch of class. Geoffrey Howe had his witty wit in his own right, but he was in many ways a rather unusual statesman compared to the others I appointed that day.I feel obligated to give Geoffrey a shadow cabinet no matter what.Just because he was a running candidate against me, I also want to unite the party as much as possible.Appointing him as Shadow Chancellor was a calculated gamble.I knew that, being a very good lawyer, he would be busy and organized.I also know that, although he has carried out the Heath government's price and income policy as Minister for Trade and Consumer Affairs, he is a well-deserved believer in free market economics.People like him are rare among the upper echelons of the Conservative Party.Now that I have decided to put Keith in charge of policy reflection, Geoffrey should be the best choice for Chancellor of the Exchequer.No one taking on this responsibility for the first time thinks that being in this role will be carefree.It's not going to be easy for Geoffrey either, trying to resolve differences over economic policy and defending our party in Parliament.I would be under a lot of pressure to remove him and find someone else who could rival Dennis Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I know that Jeffrey's difficulties are like mine, mostly Circumstances rather than lack of talent.Later, towards the end of our days as an opposition party, he was a figure of great importance. After careful consideration, I have decided to keep Jim Pryor as Shadow Employment Secretary.People rightly took this as a signal that I had no intention of fundamentally changing union law anytime soon.Jim's suitability for the job can only be understood from the discredited reputation of the Heath government. In 1972 Ted attempted the most profound reform of union law since 1906 through the Industrial Relations Act.After the failure of reform, all members of the Conservative Party are afraid of repeating the same mistakes.Furthermore, since Ted took on the militant leanings and lost in February 1974, the main question in the public mind was whether a Conservative government would ever have a working relationship with the trade unions.Unions were thought to enjoy effective veto power over policy at the time.Jim firmly believed that our aim should be to create a situation where we both accepted the bland union laws (with perhaps suggestions for improvement) and believed that it was possible to deal with union leaders. Such a policy made more sense in the early years of opposition than in later years, but in any case two important questions remained unanswered.First, how should we react to the fact that the theoretical ills of existing laws, as amended by socialists, have had dire practical consequences?The subsequent Glenwick incident and the strike in the winter of 1978-1979 just illustrated this problem.Second, since trade union leaders are at least socialist politicians as well as union representatives, why should they be willing to cooperate with the Conservative Party?They are inherently irreconcilable with us in economic thinking, and so are their views with us in matters of political allegiance.So what would be the value of Jim's personal diplomacy with the union?Maybe not much.But for now, he's the right man for the position. Alley Neave told me privately that the only post he wanted was Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland.His informative network and proven inner courage and tact were enough to enable him to take on this grim and largely thankless task. Other appointments are less strategically important.Quentin Hailsham is not serving, but is the de facto justice-designate.Francis Pym remained Shadow Agriculture Secretary, although he had to relinquish the post a few months later for health reasons.I have kept my old friend Patrick Jenkin on as Shadow Energy Secretary.Norman St John-Stivers, who I knew from my time at the Ministry of Education, was appointed Shadow Education Secretary.He was both a lively wit and one of the few public supporters I had in the second round of the leadership election.Former journalist Norman Fowler, MP for the politically important West Midlands constituency, was chosen as Shadow Social Services Secretary.It is not clear to me how exactly these arrangements have anything to do with balancing views on the left and right in the party.But in appointing Tim Raison as Shadow Environment Secretary I knew I was promoting someone who was associated with the centre-left, but who was thoughtful, resourceful and knowledgeable on comprehensive social policy.I believe he will be a treasure.Two of my offers for the Shadow Cabinet were turned down - one for John Biffen, who later joined and one for Edward Dukan, whose early campaign became my campaign Core.It may be to my advantage that Edward remains Chairman of the 1922 Committee. The next day (Tuesday), I took care of some less interesting business. At 10:30, Peter Walker walked into my office.We've known each other since he succeeded me as a candidate for the Dartford constituency.But those days are long gone, and the enthusiasm between us is gone.He had been one of the ablest men in Ted's circle, and he had done his best to whip Keith and me into the policies that Keith and I were determined to pursue.He obviously has to leave his post.It was a distaste for me to say so; it has disturbed me for years afterwards.But at least Peter didn't have much to hope for.He became a staunch critic among backbenchers. After conferring with Jeffrey Ripon, who then walked into my office, I was convinced that he would not take the job: it would suit us both.Then I met Nicola Scott, the former Shadow Housing Secretary.He is also on the left of the party.The fact that I have folded Housing (Minister) into the role of Environment Secretary has made the conversation easier.The job just got me out of under him. I then turned to have a patient conversation with Robert Carr.I told him that I had given Reggie Maudlin the shadow foreign secretary job.He probably already knew about it.Maybe he was just expecting too much, maybe I should have persuaded him to stay and take another role.But I don't want to have another hard-line opponent in the leadership team, no matter where he is.So I made it clear that I couldn't ask him to stay in the Shadow Pavilion.After a rough few minutes, he walked out and told the press he was concerned about "people who seem to think (monetarism) is some kind of automatic mechanism".Who the so-called "those people" are is beyond guesswork. The Shadow Cabinet list announced later (with Peter Thornycroft as party chairman and Angus Maud as Director of Conservative Research added later) was rightly seen as the product of a compromise.This angered those on the left of the party who were unhappy with my dismissal of Robert Carr, Peter Walker and Nicola Scott; it also disappointed the right.The return of Reggie Maudlin, the appointment of Geoffrey instead of Keith as shadow chancellor and the lack of fresh faces from the right from the backbench all worry them.In fact, it was a relatively successful operation, because my position was not stable at the time, and I needed to reflect a balance of opinions in the Shadow Cabinet that could unite the whole party.It marked the formation of a treasury team that shared my and Keith's views on free market economics, thus shifting the balance of thought in the Shadow Cabinet to my side in general, and making those I had left behind from the Ted camp Allegiance to me becomes a legitimate thing.I feel that I can expect (to a certain extent) support from this leadership group, but I also know that I cannot claim to have ruled the world - even on basic principles.