Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900

859 Pages·1994·9.447 MB·English

by  Anthony Seldon, Stuart Ball

Title Pages
University Press Scholarship Online
Oxford Scholarship Online
Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900
Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball
Print publication date: 1994
Print ISBN-13: 9780198202387
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001
Title Pages
Conservative Century Conservative Century
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Cover illustrations: Front: The Escalator to Prosperity, Conservative
Party
Election Poster, 1929. CPA Election Posters 30. The Bodleian Library,
Oxford.
Back: Winston Churchill - Topham Picture Source © 1989.
Harold MacMillan - The Hulton Deutsch Collection.
Margaret Thatcher - Andrew Besley/Barnaby's Picture Library.
John Major - © Richard Gardner/Barnaby's Picture Library.
Page 2 of 3
Acknowledgements
University Press Scholarship Online
Oxford Scholarship Online
Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900
Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball
Print publication date: 1994
Print ISBN-13: 9780198202387
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001
(p.v) Acknowledgements
The editors wish to acknowledge the generous co-operation of the Conservative Party in
permitting the authors to consult and quote from the papers in the Party Archive at the
Bodleian Library up to 1975, without in any way seeking to influence or restrain the
resulting conclusions. Whilst this book is in no sense an ‘official’ history, we are grateful
for the assistance which many in the party have kindly given. We would like to express
our particular gratitude to Alistair Cooke, who acted as our principal point of contact at
Central Office and who was unfailingly generous with his time despite many other
pressures. We would also like to thank the other party officers, officials, MPs, and
ministers, not all of whom can be named, who allowed themselves to be interviewed or
who assisted the project with advice and information. Paul Gribble kindly tracked down
some elusive facts and figures at the final stage.
We are much indebted to Sarah Street, until recently the archivist responsible for the
party papers held at the Bodleian, who cheerfully gave many of the authors invaluable
practical guidance through a rich and increasingly complex collection, and to the staff of
the Modern Manuscripts Reading Room, where the documents are consulted. We are
also grateful for the help given by the staffs of the many other libraries and archives
consulted in the course of research; acknowledgements of permission for quotation from
unpublished papers in these collections are made in the footnotes of the relevant
Page 1 of 3
Acknowledgements
chapters.
David Butler, in his capacity as Chairman of the Institute of Contemporary British History,
graciously hosted the initial conference associated with the volume at Nuffield College in
February 1991. Unfortunately this coincided with British Rail's infamous ‘wrong kind of
snow’: a valuable contribution was made by those who fought their way through the
blizzards to reach Oxford, and our thanks also go to the others who tried valiantly to be
present but were forced to turn back. The Institute of Historical Research kindly
provided a venue for the later meeting of contributors at the final draft stage, whilst the
members of the Twentieth Century British History seminar held there gave a
constructive reception to earlier versions of many of the chapters. David Clarke, formerly
Director of the Conservative Research Department, kindly read and commented on the
draft manuscript, allowing us to draw on his close knowledge of the party.
(p.vi) The editors are grateful to the contributors for the time and care taken in the
researching and writing of their chapters, and for their willing responsiveness to editorial
suggestions. This form of collective work proceeds like a convoy at the pace of the slowest
vessel, and we are grateful for the patience of those who delivered according to the
original schedule and who had hoped to see their work in print earlier than has proven to
be possible. We would like to thank Tony Morris of Oxford University Press for his
consistent support of the project and for remaining unruffled during its gestation, and
Anne Gelling and Hilary Walford for their help in producing the finished book.
On a personal note, a project on this scale undertaken in addition to increasing teaching
and administrative duties unavoidably has an impact upon family life. Anthony Seldon
wishes to thank Donal Blaney and Peter Goodchild for their administrative help, his
classes at Tonbridge and St Dunstan's College for their enthusiasm and ideas, and finally
his long-suffering family, who have all too often had to endure an empty chair at mealtimes
because of the workload resulting from this book. Stuart Ball is grateful to his Special
Subject groups at the University of Leicester and to his former research student, Harry
Bennett, for many stimulating discussions, and is glad of this opportunity to acknowledge
and thank his wife, Gillian, for the consistent practical help and loving support which she
has given during the past years, over and above the demands of her own work and the
needs and energy of Alastair and Duncan.
A.S.
S.R.B
December 1993
Page 2 of 3
List of Plates
University Press Scholarship Online
Oxford Scholarship Online
Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900
Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball
Print publication date: 1994
Print ISBN-13: 9780198202387
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001
(p.ix) List of Plates
(between pp. 236–7 and 524–5)
Leaders and Events
1 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, 1900
2 Arthur Balfour on his way to the House, 1911
3 A Budget Protest League poster, 1909–10
4 Conservative MPs howl down Liberal leader H. H. Asquith, 24 July 1911
5 Andrew Bonar Law at the anti-Home Rule rally at Blenheim Palace, 29 July
1912, with F. E. Smith
6 Bonar Law in Whitehall, 1915
7 Austen Chamberlain at the Midland Tory Club, Birmingham, 11 May 1922
8 Stanley Baldwin at a Junior Imperial League mass meeting, Albert Hall, 10
March 1928, with Party Chairman J. C. C. Davidson
9 Two posters from the general election of 1929
10 Baldwin, Austen Chamberlain, and the 4th Marquess of Salisbury after the
party meeting, Caxton Hall, 24 June 1930
11 Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain on 13 August 1931, during the crisis which
resulted in the National Government
Page 1 of 4
List of Plates
12 Neville Chamberlain, 28 May 1937
13 Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, and Kingsley Wood leave the morning
cabinet meeting of 10 May 1940
14 Churchill at the Central Council meeting, 28 November 1945, with Eden and R.
A. Butler
15 Lord Woolton congratulates Churchill on his return to office, 25 October 1951
16 Churchill speaks at the party conference, Margate, 10 October 1953
17 Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe
18 Making a televised Party Political Broadcast at the BBC studios, Lime Grove,
17 May 1955: Iain Macleod, Butler, Eden, Harold Macmillan, and Walter
Monckton
19 Election poster, 1950
20 Election poster, 1959
21 Macmillan campaigning in the 1959 general election
(p.x) 22 Sir Alec Douglas-Home canvassing in 1964
23 Election poster, 1966
24 Election poster, 1970
25 The shadow cabinet in conference at the Selsdon Park Hotel, 31 January 1970
26 The Central Council meeting endorses the Europe white paper, Central Hall,
14 July 1971; Heath speaking, with Party Chairman Peter Thomas and Maudling
27 Heath and William Whitelaw at an election press conference, 7 October 1974
28 Margaret Thatcher after election as party leader, 11 February 1975
29 Thatcher launches the policy statement The Right Approach, 2 October 1976,
with Sir Keith Joseph, Angus Maude, Lord Carrington, Sir Geoffrey Howe, and
Lord Thorneycroft
30 Saatchi & Saatchi's famous poster campaign, August 1978
31 Thatcher and Party Chairman Cecil Parkinson applaud after Howe's speech on
economic policy, annual conference, 14 October 1981
32 Margaret and Denis Thatcher, with Parkinson, inside Central Office on election
night, 1983
33 Nigel Lawson, Thatcher, and Norman Tebbit at a Central Office press
conference, 1987
34 Election poster, 1987
35 Sir Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech, 13 November 1990; Lawson is
seated next to him
36 John Major at the 1992 party conference with Gillian Shepherd, Norman
Fowler, Norma Major, Norman Lamont, John Gummer, Douglas Hurd, Michael
Howard, Kenneth Clarke, Michael Heseltine
The Party Establishment
37 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
38 1st Marquess Curzon
39 5th Marquess of Salisbury
40 6th Baron Carrington
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List of Plates
41 Sir Alexander Acland-Hood
42 David Margesson
43 Martin Redmayne
44 Richard Ryder
45 Arthur Steel-Maitland
(p.xi) 46 John Colin Campbell Davidson
47 Lord Woolton
48 Lord Thorneycroft
49 Marjorie Maxse
50 Sir Robert Topping
51 Sir Michael Fraser
52 Sir Anthony Garner
53 Conservative Party campaign vans on the Embankment, 10 December 1907
54 Staff at the Central Office warehouse in Bermondsey prepare election
literature for despatch, 8 November 1935
55 The door of Central Office at Palace Chambers, 1938, with the Palace of
Westminster beyond
56 Central Office prepares for the 1955 campaign: T. F. Watson, Barbara Brooke,
Lord Woolton, John Hare, Sir Stephen Pierssené
57 Central Office: workers in the Press and Publicity Department, 9 September
1959
58 Lord Chelmer
59 Sir Norman Fowler at the publication of the organization review, 4 February
1993
60 In the office of Walsall Conservative Association during the 1929 election: R. E.
Ledbury, chairman of the publicity committee and Alfred Turner, agent
61 Computerization: James McCabe, Leicester city agent, January 1994
The Rank and File
62 Annual conference, Leeds, November 1911, addressed by Bonar Law only a
few days after his election as leader
63 Annual conference, Margate, 1 October 1936
64 Annual conference, Blackpool, 7 October 1970
65 Delegates applaud Mrs Thatcher's speech at the 1981 annual conference
66 The Oxford branch of the Womens' Unionist and Tariff Reform Association is
addressed by the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, 23 July 1908
67 L. S. Johnson, Conservative candidate for Walthamstow, campaigning in the
January 1910 election
68 Lord Winterton, MP for Horsham, in the January 1910 general election
69 Waldron Smithers, MP for Chislehurst, speaking at a garden party in his
constituency, 13 June 1928
(p.xii) 70 Conservative candidate Patrick Donner campaigns in West Islington
under the National Government banner, 1931
71 Robert Topping and Sir Gervais Rentoul display the new party flag on a special
Page 3 of 4
List of Plates
train leaving Kings Cross for a party cruise in the Mediterranean, 2 September
1933
72 Students listen to a lecture at the party's Swinton College, Masham, 1949
73 Bolton Conservative Association fair, Young Conservatives stall, 1950
74 R. Marriott, agent for Holborn & St Pancras, at the start of the campaign, 18
April 1955
75 The chairman and secretary of Edmonton Young Conservatives campaign for
Edwin Hubbard, with his wife, 23 May 1970
76 Party members in Reading prepare an ‘In Touch’ local newsletter, summer
1982
77 Bury St Edmunds Conservative Association garden party, Horringer Manor,
29 June 1985
Picture Acknowledgements
All illustrations courtesy of Hulton Deutsch, except as follows: Stuart Ball, 60, 61, 73;
Camera Press, 17; Conservative Party Archive, Bodleian Library, 3, 9, 19, 20, 23, 24, 30,
34; Vanessa Dart, 76; Srdja Djukanovic, 28, 32, 52; Sir Anthony Garner, 22; Paul Gobble,
77; Home Counties Newspapers, 21; Illustrated London News, 45, 50; Mansell
Collection, 4; Oxfordshire County Libraries, 66; Popperfoto, 1, 15, 39; Press Association,
2, 5, 11, 14, 16, 27, 36, 40, 44, 48, 58, 75; Press Association/Topham, 35; Sir David
Smithers, 69; Sport and General, 18; Times Newspapers/Simon Walker, 59; Times
Newspapers/John Manning, 43; Topham Picture Source, 12, 41, 46; Universal Pictorial,
51.
List of Tables
University Press Scholarship Online
Oxford Scholarship Online
Conservative Century: The Conservative Party since 1900
Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball
Print publication date: 1994
Print ISBN-13: 9780198202387
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202387.001.0001
(p.xiii) List of Tables
2.1 The selection of Conservative leaders 1902–1963 70
2.2 Conservative leadership elections 1965–1990 85
3.1 Conservative Subject Committees and regional groups, 1993–1994 127
4.1 Occupation of Conservative MPs 1900–1935 147
4.2 Education of Conservative MPs 1900–1935 152
4.3 Occupation of Conservative MPs 1945–1992 160
4.4 Education of Conservative MPs 1945–1992 162
4.5 Education of new Conservative MPs 1945–1992 163
6.1 The Conservative Party's annual conferences 1900–1993 229–31
7.1 Constituency income and expenditure: North Dorset Conservative
Association 289
9.1 The functions of the Conservative Research Department 362
11.1 Size ranges of local authorities pre- and post-1974 431
13.1 The public standing of trade unions 1954–1992 518
13.2 The prominence of industrial relations in Conservative Party annual
conference agendas 1950–1958 521
13.3 The main provisions of Conservative legislation on trade unions 1980–1992
534
Page 1 of 2
List of Tables
13.4 The ‘Thatcher effect’ and the trade unions 1979–1992 536
13.5 Trade-union power and representativeness 1979–1992 538
15.1 Conservative and Liberal Unionist share of the vote in English constituencies
correlated with selected social and economic variables 589
15.2 Housing tenure and voting intention 1964 595
15.3 Prediction of the Labour share of the vote in 1970 600
15.4 Components of electoral change 1964–1987 603
15.5 Harris—ITN exit poll 1987 605
15.6 Observer—Harris opinion polls 1990 606
16.1 Conservative vote by gender 615
16.2 Conservative vote by gender and age group 616
16.3 Women candidates and elected MPs 1918–1992 626
16.4 Conservative women cabinet ministers 630
18.1 Conservative and allied parties in Scottish parliamentary elections 1900–
1992 676
(p.xiv) 18.2 The Conservative Secretaries for Scotland 1900–1926 682
18.3 The Conservative Secretaries of State for Scotland since 1926 683