1975 Conservative Party leadership election (UK)

Last updated August 16, 2019

The 1975 Conservative Party leadership election was held in February 1975, in which the party's sitting MPs voted Margaret Thatcher as party leader on the second ballot. Previous leader Edward Heath stood aside after the first ballot, in which he unexpectedly finished behind Thatcher. The Conservatives were the official Opposition to the Labour government, so Thatcher also became Leader of the Opposition.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office. A Soviet journalist dubbed her "The 'Iron Lady'", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies known as Thatcherism.

The leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is the most senior politician of the Conservative Party. To date, two of the leaders have been women: Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. The post is currently held by Boris Johnson, elected in 2019 as May's successor.

Sir Edward Richard George Heath, often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath served 51 years as a Member of Parliament from 1950 to 2001. He was a strong supporter of the European Communities (EC), and after winning the decisive vote in the House of Commons by 336 to 244, he led the negotiations that culminated in Britain's entry into the EC on 1 January 1973. It was, says biographer John Campbell, "Heath's finest hour". Although he planned to be an innovator as Prime Minister, his government foundered on economic difficulties, including high inflation and major strikes. He became an embittered critic of Margaret Thatcher, who supplanted him as Conservative leader.

Background

Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister had called and unexpectedly lost the February 1974 general election. Although the Labour Party were able only to form a minority government, the following October 1974 general election saw them obtain a three-seat majority, and it was widely expected that Heath (who had led the party for the previous decade but lost three of the four general elections he contested) would not be leader of the party for much longer.

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, sometimes informally called the Tories, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. The governing party since 2010, it is the largest in the House of Commons, with 311 Members of Parliament, and also has 238 members of the House of Lords, 4 members of the European Parliament, 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 11 members of the Welsh Assembly, 8 members of the London Assembly and 7,462 local councillors.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, until 1801 known as the Prime Minister of Great Britain, is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister directs both the executive and the legislature, and together with their Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate.

The February 1974 United Kingdom general election was held on the 28th day of that month. The Labour Party led by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson made moderate gains, but was short of an overall majority. The Conservative Party led by incumbent Edward Heath lost 37 seats, but achieved a slightly higher share of the vote than Labour. This resulted in a hung parliament; Heath resigned when he found himself unable to form a coalition, and Wilson became Prime Minister for a second time. Labour won 301 seats, 17 short of a majority.

At that time the rules for electing a party leader only applied when the post was vacant and there was no way to challenge an incumbent. Heath faced many critics calling for either his resignation or a change in the rules for leadership elections to allow for a challenge. Heath eventually agreed with the 1922 Committee that there would be a review of the rules for leadership elections and subsequently he would put himself up for re-election.

The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the UK House of Commons. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbencher MPs, meets weekly while parliament is in session and provides a way for backbenchers to co-ordinate and discuss their views independently of frontbenchers. Its executive membership and officers are by consensus limited to backbench MPs, although since 2010 frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. The committee can also play an important role in choosing the party leader. The group was formed in 1923 but became important after 1940. It is generally closely related to the leadership and under the control of party whips.

A review was conducted under the auspices of Heath's predecessor Sir Alec Douglas-Home. Two recommendations were made, though neither was to make a difference in 1975 (although they would prove crucial in future years). The leader would henceforth be elected annually, whether the party was in opposition or government, in the period following a Queen's Speech, though in most years this would prove a formality. Also on the first round the requirement for a victorious candidate to have a lead of 15% over their nearest rival was modified so that this would now be 15% of the total number of MPs, not just those voting for candidates.

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964. He was the last Prime Minister to hold office while a member of the House of Lords, before renouncing his peerage and taking up a seat in the House of Commons for the remainder of his premiership. His reputation, however, rests more on his two spells as Britain's foreign minister than on his brief premiership.

The election campaign

Following the review, on 13 January 1975 Heath called a leadership election for 4 February, in order to assert his authority as leader of the party. Many expected the contest to be a walkover, believing there was no clear alternative to Heath after Keith Joseph had ruled himself out following controversial remarks calling on poor people to have fewer children^[1] and William Whitelaw had pledged loyalty to Heath. Many other shadow cabinet members pledged their support for Heath including Jim Prior, Peter Carrington, Leader in the House of Lords, and Robert Carr, Shadow Chancellor.

Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph,, known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under four prime ministers: Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher. He was a key influence in the creation of what came to be known as "Thatcherism" and the subsequent decline of one-nation conservatism and the postwar consensus.

William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw,, often known as Willie Whitelaw, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary and de facto deputy to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1991.

James Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior, PC, usually known as Jim Prior, was a British Conservative politician. A member of parliament from 1959 to 1987, he represented the Suffolk constituency of Lowestoft until 1983 and then the renamed constituency of Waveney from 1983 to 1987, when he stood down from the House of Commons and was made a life peer. He served in two Conservative Cabinets, and outside parliament was Chairman of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce from 1996 to 2004.

However, on 20 January Margaret Thatcher opted to stand, with Airey Neave as her campaign manager, as did backbencher Hugh Fraser. Even then many believed that Heath would win easily. Thatcher's support was seen as minimal, with all the Conservative daily newspapers backing Heath (although the weekly The Spectator backed Thatcher). As the election went on it became clear that the race was going to be much closer, as Thatcher became the clear candidate to be supported by discontented backbenchers.^[2]

Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament.

Major The Right Honourable Sir Hugh Charles Patrick Joseph Fraser, was a British Conservative politician and first husband of Lady Antonia Fraser.

The Spectator is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828. It is owned by David and Frederick Barclay who also own The Daily Telegraph newspaper, via Press Holdings. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Its editorial outlook is generally supportive of the Conservative Party, although regular contributors include some outside that fold, such as Frank Field, Rod Liddle and Martin Bright. The magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, and film and TV reviews.

As Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Edward du Cann managed the election. After his defeat in the first ballot Heath asked Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Carr to "take over the functions of leader" until a new leader was elected.^[3]

Results

The first ballot had the following result:

First ballot: 4 February 1975
Candidate		Votes	%
	Margaret Thatcher	130	47.1
	Edward Heath	119	43.1
	Hugh Fraser	16	5.8
Second ballot required

As a result of the first ballot, Fraser was eliminated. Heath resigned, but another ballot was needed:

Second ballot: 11 February 1975
Candidate		Votes	%
	Margaret Thatcher	146	52.9
	William Whitelaw	79	28.6
	Geoffrey Howe	19	6.9
	Jim Prior	19	6.9
	John Peyton	11	4
Margaret Thatcher elected

49-year-old Thatcher became the first woman to be elected leader of a major British political party.

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References

↑ Denham, Andrew; Garnett, Mark (2002). Keith Joseph. Acumen. p. 265.
↑ The Times (59305). London. 28 January 1975. col A, p. 2.Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ The Times (59312). London. 5 February 1975. col A, p. 1.Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

BBC News story on the election

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[1] Denham, Andrew; Garnett, Mark (2002). Keith Joseph. Acumen. p. 265.

[2] The Times (59305). London. 28 January 1975. col A, p. 2.Missing or empty |title= (help)

[3] The Times (59312). London. 5 February 1975. col A, p. 1.Missing or empty |title= (help)