Word: heath
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Nevertheless, for the benefit of his 25-odd Laborite left-wingers who were deeply shocked by steel's omission, Wilson in the debate following the Queen's speech insisted that steel was not dead but merely sleeping until the parliamentary calendar was less crowded. Tory Leader Ted Heath was not impressed: "It looks like the biggest conversion since Bessemer invented his converter," he jeered, "a squalid act of political expediency by a prime minister who puts political powers before his principles and beliefs." Heath's biting attack, as he taunted Wilson with every promise he had ever...
Nervous Rub. The entire House of Commons cheered Wilson's news, and Tory Opposition Leader Ted Heath even rose to welcome him "warmly" after his "long and arduous mission." But the euphoria did not last long. Two days later, the British Prime Minister was back in Commons, grey, grim, and rubbing his cheek nervously with the signet ring on his left hand, to report that "it is now clear that there is no prospect of agreement...
...Surprises. Heath's task was made no easier by the genuine outpouring of warmth that greeted his predecessor, Sir Alec Douglas-Home. And the freshly minted Conservative statement of aims was something less than the dynamic manifesto the Tory faithful had hoped for. Its conventional mix of incentives for private enterprise and tolerance for the Welfare State brought no surprises...
...introductory speech, Heath droned on about the benefits of "occupational pensions" and "meals-on-wheels" to the yawns of the audience. It was not until next day that the Conservatives were able to grab some headline space. Up stepped tough, mustachioed Enoch Powell, the shadow Defense Minister, with an astonishing plea for reduction of British military commitments east of Suez. Arguing that "a military presence has more than once proved an obstacle," Powell said that in the long run the quelling of Communist expansionism in Asia and Africa was not Britain's business. Besides, maintenance of military bases...
Strange sentiments to come from a right-wing spokesman for the party of Empire? Perhaps, but Powell's thinking reflected a growing sense of realism on the Tories' part, as well as another step in Heath's determined plan to bring Britain closer to Europe and win membership in the Common Market. Closing down such major British bases as Aden and Singapore, substituting a cheaper defense line based on small, stepping-stone islands in the Indian Ocean would produce a considerable saving in Britain's annual $6 billion defense budget. The U.S. Navy is currently studying...