The 1966 general election

On Easter Monday, the BBC Parliament channel broadcast the entire coverage of the 1966 general election. With storm Kate raging outside, and making any outdoor activities unattractive, I watched most of the coverage.

David Butler said near the beginning of the broadcast that 'Britain is a uniform country.' Of course, he was particularly referring to the concept of swing which he was keen to defend throughout the broadcast.

What struck me about the vox pops with voters (not easy to do, as I know) was how many of them used the argument that Labour should be given a longer period in office with a larger majority to see what they could do. I was also struck by how many Conservative voters thought there was a real prospect of extensive nationalisation, for example of the banks. It was difficult to see the pragmatic Wilson ever doing that.

One American journalist who was interviewed said that if the country could produce political leaders of the calibre of Heath, Wilson and Grimond, the body politic must be in a healthy state. Could we say the same of today's leaders in either the UK or the United States?

Scottish Secretary and machine politician Willie Ross said that we were too politically mature to contemplate self-government for Scotland. However, David Butler did pick up on the growing Scottish Nationalist vote in the lowland belt.

In his press conference, Edward Heath was far more relaxed than I remember him, although he displayed his distracting habit of heaving his shoulders when laughing.

Denis Healey

BBC2 ran an excellent Michael Cockerill programme on Denis Healey last night. Most people were probably watching the Great British Bake Off but it can be viewed on BBC I-player. Healey was referred to 'as the best prime minister Labour never had', but a central message was that he was too volatile and temperamental for the top job.

One of Healey's great merits was his belief in the concept of 'hinterland', that one needed a life beyond politics. With a double first in Classics, he was an erudite individual and was well complemented by his wife, Edna.

I remember once being at a function, I think in the 1980s. The wooden Edward Heath was there, but as usual had no small talk. I turned to Healey, who recited a poem he had recently written.

Arundells and Edward Heath

Yesterday I visited Arundells, the home in Salisbury's Cathedral Close of Edward Heath. Coincidentally, I have just finished reading Dominic Sandbrook's history of the Heath Governnment, State of Emergency.

Thoroughly researched and well written as all of his books are, Sandbrook social conservatism is on display: perhaps even his big C Conservatism as he is now fulfilled the ambition that many academics dream of, giving up his post to write full time. And where has he moved? Chipping Norton.

Sandbrook's basic verdict on Heath is that he did not lack the vision thing, but tried to do too much too quickly against a difficult social and economic bacground (remind you of David Cameron?) Heath was a modernising technocrat who thought you could win through by rational argument but his communication skills were poor (perhaps because he was emotionally stunted).

Arundells is well worth visiting just for the garden (which you can go round if you can't get into the house which you have to book ahead for). It is beautifully designed and ends in a river and some water meadows while walking back to the house gives you a fine view of the spire of Salisbury Cathderal (which has an interesting contemporary sculpture exhibition on at the moment).

For a political enthusiast, the highlights include the collection of photos on the grand piano which includes one of Heath with Fidel Castro, an unlikely pairing. Bill Clinton was hidden in a draw for a while, apparently.

Another highlight is the 'cartoon corridor'. It's interesting how quickly political reputations fade as I had to explain to other visitors who John Davis (of 'lame ducks' fame) was. Indeed, I bumped into our Conservative MP at the station in the morning and he clearly regards Heath as prehistoric which in a way he is.

If you want to see Arundells, you might have to go quickly as the trustees are trying to sell it off as they can't afford the upkeep although they are encountering some resistance: Arundells

If this was the States, the house would be part of a presidential library and run as a national monument. Here there might be a case for the National Trust to take over. They would bring some commercial savvy to the operation such as asking visitors to add Gift Aid to the rather modest fee. It would be a shame if the unique collections in the house were dispersed.

The 1970 general election

From time to time, BBC Parliament re-runs the coverage of a general election, although this is not always well publicised. On Saturday they featured the 1970 general election.

In such unedited material it is the little points one noticed. One regional correspondent had a cigarette smoking in an ashtray. A new Conservative woman MP who was interviewed, Janet Fookes (later to become a deputy speaker and now in the Lords) was described as a 'gorgeous redhead' for the benefit of viewers watching on black-and-white sets.

This hardly fitted well with her declared intention to pursue issues relating to the legal status of women. Robin Day also tried to talk up some romantic interest in Edward Heath, but she insisted that she was not interested in sailing.

'Mad Mitch' who have defeated Laura Grimond in Aberdeenshire West had a rather acerbic interview. He gained his nickname after re-taking the Crater district of Aden from nationalist insurgents on his own initiative. This was described as 'the last battle of the British Empire'. Mitch stood down in 1974 to pursue what turned out to be a failed business venture. The maverick right-winger later described this as his biggest mistake, but all his attempts to return were unsuccessful.

A very posh lady interviewer attempted to talk to racegoers at Ascot but either they didn't want to talk her or they had little understanding of politics despite being declared Conservatives.

Going to the IMF

As a regular user of the National Archives, I hadn't realised that discussions held on Privy Council terms were never supposed to be released. This story from 1974 which has somehow got under the wire has some relevance to contemporary economic policy: Heath