Gleanings & Memoranda: Conservative Party Archive

Chamberlain and trout fishing

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 17:23:00 +0000

To mark the start of the new coarse fishing season today, Gleanings and Memoranda publishes extracts from 80 year old correspondence between Neville Chamberlain and Joseph Ball which was recently 'discovered' in the Conservative Party Archive, testifying to their shared love of fishing.

The letters, between Chamberlain and the Director of the Conservative Research Department date from May-October 1934 and ostensibly concern the formation and progress of the committee set up by Chamberlain to re-invigorate the National Government, then still led by Ramsay MacDonald, with policy ideas to take forward as Government policy for the 1935 General Election.

While the exchange between the two certainly make reference to the Cabinet Conservative Committee, as it was known, much of the content focusses on trout fishing on the rivers Test in Hampshire and Lugg in Herefordshire.

Under the guidance of Chamberlain and Ball, the Cabinet Conservative Committee continued its deliberations until July 1935. The series of memoranda and reports it produced helped ensure a Conservative and National Government victory at the general election in November 1935. The result of the election, which saw MacDonald lose his seat and Baldwin replace him as Prime Minister, confirmed the dominant position of the Conservative Party within the National Government. Chamberlain himself took over the helm from 1937.

Chamberlain's love of fly-fishing was well known. Amidst the public adulation with which he was greeted after his return from the Munich Conference after having pacified Hitler over Czechoslovakia in September 1938, Downing Street was inundated with gifts, including several fishing rods and numerous salmon flies.

The Admission of Foreign Paupers - a reminder from 1892...

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:59:00 +0000

With the UK due to open its doors to Romanians and Bulgarians from 1st January, 2014, Gleanings & Memoranda looks back to 1892, when an earlier wave of immigration was causing consternation and became an election issue for the Conservative Party.

Lord Salisbury's Conservative Government had been in power since 1886 when this 7-page election pamphlet was published on the subject of immigration during the General Election campaign in June 1892:

The majority of the destitute immigrants referred to in the pamphlet, were Russian and Polish Jews fleeing the pogroms of the Russian Empire, which had been going on since 1881.

By the late 1880s, the widespread British sympathy initially expressed towards the Jewish refugees was giving way in some quarters to hostility, as the immigrants tended to concentrate in the East End of London, contributing to overcrowding and insanitary conditions, and increasing competition for jobs:

'The mode of living of these immigrants is wretched in the extreme. Their food is of a poor nature, and they are able to maintain existence on much less than an English workman. They are for the most part an inoffensive race, and moral in their habits. In physique they are, as a rule, undersized, but their health is not bad, and they are capable of hard work. They are very industrious and work long hours for low wages'.

Although statistics at the time were unreliable, an estimated 12,062 foreign immigrants had arrived in the UK through the Port of London alone during 1888. Of these, about 'one-third are poor, and about one-sixth absolutely destitute, without any baggage, and clad in the most wretched manner.' By 1891, the total number of immigrants had reached 28,000.

Salisbury, as Prime Minister, had appointed a Commission of Inquiry under the chairmanship of the Conservative MP Sir John Colomb, in 1888, to look into the problems of unrestricted immigration into the UK.

Colomb reported in 1889 and, although he acknowledged that native English workers' conditions had deteriorated as the result of foreign workers' willingness to work for less pay, and that there was over-crowding with resulting insanitary conditions in Tower Hamlets, Mile End and Whitechapel, he was unwilling to recommend restricting the immigration of foreign paupers.

The following year, a House of Commons Select Committee found the immigration of foreign paupers to be a contributory factor in the notorious 'Sweating System', whereby paupers were forced into virtual servitude by their destitution, though it too was sympathetic to the suffering of foreign pauper immigrants in their journey from Russia:

'On arriving here they are quickly despoiled of any little worldly goods they may have brought with them, and have to depend for immediate support upon friends and have, as slaves, to work for those who have given them shelter, until six months' residence qualifies them for relief from the Jewish Board of Guardians'.

Any money they might have is 'very soon cased by the loafers, and touts, and runners, that hang about the docks for the purpose of trying to show them lodgings, or a place to rest themselves for the night'. Testimony from the Rector of Spitalfields, subsequently the Bishop of Bedford, stated that some paupers were to be found working 19-hour days in sweat shops in return merely for shelter.

As the result of these various Inquiries, proper lists of immigrants arriving at ports around the UK were ordered to be kept for the first time.

Similar increases in numbers of immigrants were being reported in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull and Newcastle, although it was noted that as many as were staying in the UK were moving on to the United States, Brazil and Argentina.

On May 6th 1892, Balfour stated in Parliament that the Government was considering legislation to deal with the problem, but although the Conservatives won the general election that July, they failed to secure a majority and Salisbury's government was defeated within the month.

Immigration of foreign paupers continued to be an issue for British politics and what was probably the first restriction on immigration into Britain eventually came onto the Statute Book with the Aliens Act of 1905.

New releases under the 30-year rule...

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 05:00:00 +0000

The list of files from the Conservative Party Archive at the Bodleian Library which will be declassified on 1st January, 2014 under the '30-year rule' is now available, here.

274 files have been opened up for research, encompassing all files deposited under general access restrictions whose end-date is 31st December, 1983 or earlier that year.

Being an election year, many of these files from 1983 are naturally devoted to the 1983 General Election preparations. More are preoccupied with the major policy review undertaken by the Conservative Party as it neared the end of Thatcher's second Government, the focus of these policy groups indicating the priorities for inclusion in the next election manifesto: Promotion of Enterprise; Inner Cities; Transport; Europe; Law and Order; Tax and Social Security; Education; Employment Policy; Family; and Nationalised Industries.

Papers from the Party's International Office provide an insight into the formation of the International Democrat Union (IDU) - the alliance of centre-Right Conservative and Christian Democrat political parties - in London in 1983. The Conservative Party was a founding member of the IDU, which provided an international dimension to the European Democrat Union which was founded in 1978. Similarly, papers are now available on the Conservative Party's bilateral relations with other centre-Right parties, notably in France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada and the United States.

As with previous years' releases, the sheer bulk of the papers now available originate with the extensive research undertaken by the Conservative Research Department. The original letter books of CRD Desk Officers and Subject Specialists which are now released, cover the policy areas of Agriculture, Defence, Economic Policy, the Environment, Europe, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Health, Trade & Industry, and Transport. The numerous and detailed briefs prepared by the Research Department for Conservative MPs prior to parliamentary debates provide evidence of the Conservative Party's approach to the whole range of parliamentary business during this period.

Together these papers form the essential core material for anyone studying the early Thatcher years. Anyone interested in consulting these papers may do so by contacting the Archivist.

Mrs Thatcher's New Year message, published in the January 1983 edition of Conservative Newsline [Shelfmark: PUB 124/4]

'Notes on Disarmament and East/West Relations' by Robin Turner, the Conservative Research Department Desk Officer for Defence and Foreign Affairs, 15th November, 1983. In 1983 the Cold War was at its height and saw not only US Cruise missiles being sited in the UK for the first time, but discussions over replacement of the UK's Polaris nuclear deterrent by Trident. [Shelfmark: CRD/L/4/56/16]

Conservative speeches 'erased' by the Party safe at the Bodleian Library!

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:37:00 +0000

Following the furore over the past two days concerning the revelation in Computer Weekly that the Conservative Party has ‘attempted to erase a 10-year backlog of speeches’ by removing them from its www.conservatives.com website, Gleanings & Memoranda seeks to allay the fears expressed by a number of historians and political commentators.

Both the BBC and The Guardian amongst others have reproduced this story, giving the impression of a deliberate attempt by the Conservatives to purge ten years’ worth of past speeches likely to cause embarrassment. However, as disappointing as it may seem to many conspiracy theorists, these speeches are all safely in the care of the Conservative Party Archive (CPA) at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and still freely available to anyone who wishes to consult them.

Following on from The Guardian’s reassurance to its readers yesterday that David Cameron’s speech to the Google Zeitgeist Europe Conference in 2006 can still be found on the Guardian’s website, we would like to add that it, this speech (reproduced in full below in its original form), as well as transcripts of tens of thousands of other Conservative Party speeches, can still be found in the Conservative Party Archive, as you would expect. And the Bodleian, with its 400 year-old pedigree, is unlikely to fall prey to the short-term whims of website editors:

[David Cameron's speech to Google Zeitgeist Europe, 22/05/2006]

These speeches have been transferred periodically by Conservative Campaign Headquarters since the CPA was established at the Bodleian in 1978. The most recent transfer of speeches was made in May 2010.

Further, over the past couple of years the CPA has been putting together a database of these speeches which will shortly be made available online via our own website, with the intention of opening up these speeches more fully to academic research. This database contains not only those speeches back to 2000, but all those held back to the late 1940s. Earlier speeches dating back to the 1893 are also held, being dutifully recorded and published in the Party’s official journal of record National Union Gleanings (from 1912, known as Gleanings & Memoranda, from which this blog takes its name). Extracts from the draft database, providing lists of speeches held by specific individuals, are already available upon request, prior to it going live.

Ultimately, when funds allow, the intention is to enable free-text searching of all the Party’s vast number of speeches, online, and free-of-charge.

Both the Conservative Party Archive Trust and the Bodleian Library are committed to improving access to, and promoting use of, the rich documentary heritage of the Conservative Party which is in its care.

Everest expedition remembered...from the pages of 'The Imp'

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:42:00 +0000

In this 60th anniversary year of Hillary and Tenzing's successful ascent of Everest in 1953, Gleanings & Memoranda looks back to an attempt made 20 years earlier, which was publicised in the May 1933 issue of The Imp.

In May 1933, Hugh Ruttledge, then a 43 year-old with a long career in the Indian Civil Service was chosen to lead the first British attempt on the mountain since the ill-fated expedition of Mallory and Irvine in 1924 which had cost both men their lives.

The Imp was the monthly newsletter of the Junior Imperial League - the Conservative Party's youth wing which was re-modelled after the War as the Young Conservatives.

Interestingly, Ruttledge, who went on to lead a second attempt on Everest in 1936, had rejected Tenzing Norgay for the Sherpa team which accompanied him.

[The Imp and the records of the Junior Imperial League from its creation in 1906 until its reorganisation as the Young Conservatives in 1946, are held in the Conservative Party Archive, at the Bodleian Library, Oxford]

Happy birthday to...the 1922 Committee

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

18th April sees the 90th anniversary of the formation of the 1922 Committee or, to give it is full name, the Conservative Private Members (1922) Committee, which held its first meeting on this day in 1923.

As Lord Norton makes clear in his just-published The Voice of the Backbenchers. The 1922 Committee: the first 90 years, 1923-2013 (Conservative History Group, 2013), the Committee was not named after the famous meeting of Conservative MPs held at the Carlton Club in October 1922 which ended the Lloyd George coalition, but after the intake of MPs first elected at the November 1922 General Election.

The 1922 Committee, now effectively the Conservative Parliamentary Party, was convened by Gervais Rentoul, MP for Lowestoft (below) who was subsequently elected as its first chairman, ‘for the purpose of mutual co-operation and assistance in dealing with political and parliamentary questions, and in order to enable new Members to take a more active interest and part in Parliamentary life.’

The minutes of the 1922 Committee dating back to 1923 are held in the Conservative Party Archive at the Bodleian Library, Oxford (see catalogue).

Gervais Rentoul, MP for Lowestoft, 1922-1934, and first chairman of the 1922 Committee

A Tribute to Baroness Thatcher of Kevesten

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:21:00 +0000

Lady Thatcher, who died on Monday, was part of a distinguished line of twenty six British Prime Ministers educated at Oxford University, where she studied Chemistry at Somerville College between 1943-1947 under the supervision of Dorothy Hodgkin, with whom she continued an occasional correspondence well into the 1980s (see Hodgkin Papers, and Additional Hodgkin Papers, Bodleian Library).

Her political career is fully captured in documents held within the Conservative Party Archive at the Bodleian, from canvassing in Oxford during the 1945 General Election campaign and her tenure as President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1946, through her long struggle for election to Parliament, her holding of a range of junior Ministerial and Opposition posts from 1961 leading to her appointment to Heath’s Shadow Cabinet in 1967, as Education Secretary in the 1970-1974 Conservative Government, Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975, and onward through her tumultuous period as Prime Minister, 1979-1990.

Below is a chronological selection of material from the Conservative Party Archive which illustrates Thatcher's rise through the Conservative Party ranks between 1949-1979.

Margaret Roberts was unanimously selected by the Executive Committee of Dartford on 31st January, 1949 as the only candidate of the 5 interviewed to go forward to the adoption meeting: '…Miss Roberts’ platform knowledge and speaking ability are far above those of the other candidates.'

Letter from Margaret Roberts to Conservative Party Vice-Chairman Miss Maxse dated 15/02/1949 which accompanied her application form to become a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. She mentions the rejections which she had received in response to applications for research posts with Unilever and the British Oxygen Company, as well as the forthcoming adoption meeting by Dartford Conservative Association.

Reference from unknown source [2^ndpage of letter missing] to JPL Thomas, Conservative Party Vice-Chairman supporting Margaret Roberts' application to become a Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, 26/02/1949: 'She is a good speaker, a good Chairman of Committee, gets on well with men (without resorting to the more obvious feminine arts!) and appears to be able to avoid unpopularity with her fellow women.'

Memorandum from Home Counties South East Area Agent Miss Cook to Mr Watson, Chief Organisation Officer, Conservative Central Office dated 14/02/1950 concerning Margaret Roberts' outstanding performance in Dartford during the 195 General Election campaign: 'She excels at questions, and always gives a straight and convincing answer. She is never heckled, they have too much respect for her. When the meeting ends people crowd round her – generally Socialists – to ask more questions, really genuine ones.'

Margaret Roberts’ election address, Dartford, 1950 General Election. She was the only female candidate at that election, and at that time, the youngest ever Conservative woman to stand.

Margaret Roberts’ election address , Dartford, 1951 General Election. Despite her defeat in 1950 she was re-selected as the Conservative candidate.

Newspaper cutting from the Daily Telegraph concerning Margaret Roberts' marriage to Dennis Thatcher, 14/12/1951

Article by Thatcher, ‘Wake up, Women’, published in the Sunday Graphic, 17/02/1952, advocating more women in the work-force and especially at Westmister

Memo from Area Agent Miss Cook to John Hare, Conservative Party Vice-Chairman, following her interview with Margaret Thatcher on 11/06/1952, concerning Thatcher's renewed desire to become a parliamentary candidate following her marriage: To quote her own words – "It is no use; I must face it: I don’t like being left out of the political stream".

Letter from Thatcher to Hare dated 02/09/1953, temporarily withdrawing from politics following the birth of twins: 'I had better not consider a candidature for at least six months'

Letter from Thatcher to Hare dated 13/01/1954 withdrawing 'permanently' from politics: 'I have quite made up my mind to pursue Law to the exclusion of politics. Even if a winnable seat in Kentshould become free, as you suggest – I do not wish my name to be considered.'

Article by Thatcher entitled ‘Finding Time’, published in the Conservative Party magazine, Onward, Apr 1954

Letter from Thatcher to Donald Kaberry, Conservative Party Vice-Chairman dated 28/02/1956 concerning her desire to return to politics: '...a little experience at the Revenue Bar and in Company matters, far from turning my attention from politics has served to draw my attention more closely to the body which is responsible for the legislation about which I have come to hold strong views.'

Memorandum, Home Counties North Area Agent PRG Horton to Kaberry dated 01/08/1958 confirming Thatcher’s adoption as parliamentary candidate by Finchley Conservative Association: 'I feel that the adoption of Mrs Thatcher will prove a shot in the arm to Finchley and that we shall see great improvements there from now on.'

Margaret Thatcher’s election address, Finchley, 1959 General Election

Report of a meeting of the Chelsea Conservative Association on the subject of pensions addressed by Mrs Thatcher – under the title, ‘The blonde in the black fur coat’, featured in Light, the magazine of the Chelsea Conservative Association, (Vol. 1, No. 1), Feb 1964. Mrs Thatcher had been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance by Macmillan in October 1961

Margaret Thatcher’s election address, Finchley, 1964 General Election

Margaret Thatcher’s election address, Finchley, 1966 General Election [In Opposition between 1964 and 1966, Thatcher was Opposition Spokesman for Land, Rates and Housing matters

The Conservative Party newsletter Monthly News, Dec 1969, featuring Thatcher’s move from Shadow Transport Minister to Shadow Education Minister

Margaret Thatcher’s election address, Finchley, 1970 General Election

Profile of Margaret Thatcher MP, the new Secretary of State for Education and Science, July 1970 As published in the Party newsletter, Weekly News (11^th July 1970; Vol. 26, No. 22)

Margaret Thatcher’s election address, Finchley, Feb 1974 General Election

‘Control, Enterprise and Savings’ – article by Thatcher published in CPC Monthly Report(No. 101, Dec 1974), as Opposition Spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs

Lead article in Conservative Monthly News covering Thatcher’s replacement of Heath as Leader of the Conservative Party: 'There is much to do. I hope you will allow me time to do it thoroughly and well.'

Article in Conservative News on the eve of the 1979 General Election: Margaret Thatcher understands 'the hopes of ordinary people - of our desire to keep more of the money we earn, to see it hold its value, to own our own homes, to see standards raised for our children at school - and to help our country raise her head high in the world again.'

50 years ago: The Profumo Affair

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Profumo's election address from 1950, when he was elected for Stratford-upon-Avon

On 22 March 1963, British Secretary of State for War John Profumo made a statement in the House of Commons in which he declared, 'There was no impropriety whatsoever in my acquaintanceship with Miss Keeler'. Profumo had been implicated in an affair with Christine Keeler, a model whose relationship with a senior Soviet naval attaché made her connection to the Secretary of State for War concerning (read the full statement on the Hansard website).

In June 1963, Profumo resigned, admitting that he had misled the House in his testimony. The scandal rocked the Party and damaged the reputation of its leader, Harold Macmillan. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October 1963; many felt the crisis had played a role in his illness. The reports surrounding the 1963 Conservative Party Conference include motions of support from various constituencies, though letters from area agents and the public in the summer of 1963 show mixed feelings.

The Archive contains relatively little about the affair, but there are a few bits and pieces that shed light on the Party's stance. The Party conducted a survey to determine how sentiment towards Prime Minister Macmillan had changed; although it showed that 44% (59% of Labour supporters) called for a General Election, the survey report indicated little concern, stating that it showed that 'the immediate effects of the Profumo crisis on the popularity of the Government and on the personal popularity of the Prime Minister may have been exaggerated.' Various meeting minutes make it clear that the affair was discussed in detail, if not the details of the discussion.

National Opinion Poll on the effect of the Profumo crisis (CCO 180/25/2/1)

Though the scandal eventually blew over, its effects were far flung and contributed to significant changes in Party leadership. It has been reintroduced to the public through various films, plays, songs and memoirs, from the 1989 film Scandal to mentions in tracks by Billy Joel and The Clash.

Profumo retired from politics after his resignation, but devoted the remainder of his life to volunteer work in London's East End. He died in 2006.

Beveridge and the British Welfare State

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:12:00 +0000

Today marks 50 years since the death of William Beveridge, the British econonomist and social reformer whose Beveridge Report formed the basis of Britain's welfare state.

We've covered Beveridge's report before on this blog, and we encourage you to take a look at the full story.

Upcoming events in Oxford: Jim Callaghan Remembered & Alistair Cooke on Enoch Powell

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:30:00 +0000

There are a handful of upcoming events in Oxford that may be of interest to historians and those with an interest in Conservative Party History.

Jim Callaghan Remembered
5.30pm, 7 March 2013
Bodleian Library
A joint event staged by the Bodleian Library, the History Faculty, University of Oxford, and Oxford University Press/Oxford Dictionary of National Biography marking the life of Jim Callaghan, Baron Callaghan (1912-2005).

A leading campaigner against British colonialism during the 1950s, Callaghan became one of the key figures in the Wilson governments, 1964-70 and 1974-76, holding all three of the most senior Cabinet posts: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary. From 1976 to 1979 he served as Prime Minister. In retirement he was an active Elder Statesman. His private papers in the Bodleian Library are a major historical resource.

Speakers include Baroness Jay, Lord Hattersley, Lord Morgan, and Andrew Smith, MP. The event will be chaired by Dr Lawrence Goldman, editor of Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

This event is free and open to all.

There will be a reception at 6.45pm in the Divinity School at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

For further information, please see the event page.

Enoch at 100: A Re-evaluation of the Life, Politics and Philosophy of Enoch Powell
Part of the Oxford Literary Festival
Alistair Cooke and Frank Field (chaired by Richard Ritchie)
2pm, 20 March 2013

Alistair Cooke, Lord Lexden, joins Frank Field in an examination of the life and politics of Enoch Powell, who would have been 100 years old in 2012. Both politicians have contributed to Enoch at 100, a collection of essays to mark the anniversary of the birth of one of the 20th century’s most controversial politicians. The essays aim to judge whether Powell’s views still have relevance today and cover areas such as the European Union, constitutional reform, immigration and social cohesion, and defence and foreign policy.

Alistair Cooke, Lord Lexden, is a political historian and official historian of the Conservative Party and occasional contributor to this blog. Frank Field is the well-known Labour MP for Birkenhead. The conversation is chaired by Richard Ritchie, archivist for Enoch Powell, editor of two books of Enoch Powell’s speeches, and also a contributor to Enoch at 100.

To book a place, please visit the Oxford Literary Festival page for the event.

40 years ago: Britain joins the EEC

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:23:00 +0000

On 1 January 1973, after decades of discussion and frustration, the United Kingdom became a full member of the European Economic Community.

The successful application was a long time coming. The UK had applied for membership in 1963 and 1967 but had been rejected - largely due to the hesitance of Charles de Gaulle, the French president.

In 1969, the Party explored the issues involved in further negotiations, estimating that a conservative estimate would extend them until 1971 (LCC 1/2/17)

When Edward Heath became Prime Minister in 1970, he continued to press for membership. In July 1971, Heath told a Central Council meeting, 'We believe, as we stated in the White Paper, that our people will be more prosperous, our economy and our industries stronger as a result of joining the European Communities'. In fact, 1971 became a year of much discussion and consultation, from the launch of the Government's White Paper to the vote at the Party Conference in October - the Party's Weekly News called it 'the summer of the Common Market. Of the great debate' (PUB 193/23). Party members, the Opposition and the public all had many questions about what EEC membership would mean for the UK. Heath's Central Council speech was met by no fewer than 29 detailed questions from the audience, and the Conservative Party Archive holds reams of correspondence about terms of membership, debates over the possibility of a referendum and discussion of Conservative policy. Heath stopped short of holding a referendum, however; the UK did not hold a public vote on the EU until 1975.

A question from Party members at the Central Council meeting in July 1971. Heath answered 29 questions, many in great detail (NUA 3/1/4)

A record of the vote in favour of EEC admission at the Conservative Party Conference, 13 October 1971. The motion passed by 2,474 against 324 votes (NUA 2/1/76)

On 1 January 1973, newspapers nationwide celebrated the work Heath did in bringing the UK into the EC, and the Union Jack was raised in Brussels to celebrate the occasion. Over the following months, however, the Conservatives - and indeed, the UK political body as a whole - turned to the practical issue of working as a part of the EEC government.

This was no small matter; the UK sent upwards of 1,000 civil servants to Brussels, and the Conservative Party Archive's papers explore the negotiations and practicalities of EEC participation. The CRD, for example, proposed that its role in relation to European Parliament should be as a source of political advice as well as a liaison between backbench members and MEPs (CRD 4/22/8). Central Office explored direct elections throughout the 1970s (CCO 20/32) and debated the possibility of a referendum. British MEPs joined those from Denmark to form the European Conservative Group - later the European Democratic Group - on 16 January 1973, and some of the group's working papers can be found in CCO 508.

The UK's membership in the European Union remains a subject of discussion and often debate. As Cameron's government explores the possibility of an EU referendum in coming years, the history of the UK's membership and previous votes, the CPA provides much fodder for those interested in Conservative policy and position toward the EEC/EU. Though recent files are closed, those up to 1982 provide a rich perspective on the UK's first few years in Europe.

Lives remembered: Lord Rees-Mogg

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:43:00 +0000

In today's Times Lord Lexden adds a postcript to Lord Rees-Mogg's obituary, which appeared in its pages on 31 December, focusing on material gleaned from the Conservative Party Archive on Rees-Mogg's early political aspirations. By kind permission of Lord Lexden, we reproduce his text below:

Lord Rees-Mogg (obituary, Dec.31) worked extremely hard to establish himself in politics, his first career choice. He possessed impressive credentials by the time he made his successful application to join the Conservative Party’s official candidates’ list at the end of 1955. During the general election earlier that year he travelled 1400 miles at his own expense speaking in a wide variety of constituencies, often at open air meetings. He also knocked on countless doors, believing “ personal canvassing to be of first importance”. Vigorous electioneering reassured those who might otherwise have regarded him as too intellectual as a result of the frequent lectures he delivered as part of the Party’s ambitious post-war political education programme, established by his mentor, Rab Butler, with its headquarters at Swinton Conservative College in Yorkshire where he taught regularly. In 1956 he became a prominent member of a policy committee on the structure and accountability of the nationalised industries, chaired by Butler( who he always believed should have become Tory leader). He declared that the time he was prepared to give the Tory Party was “ only limited by his work for the Financial Times”. As the Conservative candidate in Chester-le-Street he won golden opinions from the hard-bitten senior Party agent who oversaw his first campaign there in 1956. “ In the closing stages of his campaign he might almost have been described as outstanding. He was particularly strong in answering questions and always got the better of his questioner”. Even after the 1964 general election, when surprisingly he failed to be selected for a safe seat, he still retained hopes of a parliamentary career, stressing that he “ would give proper time to nursing a constituency” and “ would of course undertake personal canvassing”.

[CCO 1/11/58/3, William Rees-Mogg's By-Election News, published during the Chester-le-Street by-election campaign, Sep 1956]

New releases under the 30-year rule...

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:15:00 +0000

1^st January every year sees a new tranche of files de-classified by the Conservative Party Archive under the 30-year rule. This year, 403 files dating up to 31^stDecember 1982 are newly available; in addition, many more are available by permission of Conservative Campaign Headquarters: Files de-classified 01-01-2013

A large proportion of the files released this year consist of Conservative Central Office’s files on local Conservative associations. With a file on virtually every constituency, spanning the period 1971-1982, a great deal can be gleaned on developments in local Party organisation in the 1970s. The files tell us not only about the selection (and occasional de-selection) process for choosing the Party’s next parliamentary candidate in each constituency, but also include the often very frank and critical assessments by Central Office’s Area Agents on the efficiency or otherwise of the local organisation, not to mention reports of local disputes which they were frequently called upon to resolve.

Hidden in these files are to be found the origins of Lord Patten’s parliamentary career – who as Chris Patten was working in the Conservative Research Department – that same route to a parliamentary career taken by the current Prime Minister. As the files on Lambeth [CCO 1/16/1/1] and Bath [CCO 1/16/10/12] constituencies show, Lord Patten’s future distinguished career as a Conservative Cabinet Minister, Party Chairman and the last Governor of Hong Kong, was by no means certain as he struggled to enter Parliament. Selected as Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Lambeth in June 1973, Patten fought and lost the 1974 election. By this time Director of the Conservative Research Department, he faced a gruelling selection process to become Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bath in 1977 and finally MP in 1979.

In Kingswood [CCO 1/16/10/6], newly carved out of South Gloucestershire, Bristol North East and Bristol South East constituencies following boundary changes in 1971, Alderman Charles G Irving was adopted as its first Parliamentary Candidate in June 1972, in which capacity he fought and lost both 1974 general elections, standing down in 1975. Controversially, the former Liberal Parliamentary Candidate for Kingswood, Councillor Jack Aspinall, who had been re-adopted as the Liberal candidate only in August 1974, then resigned from the Liberal Party and joined the Conservative Party in time to put himself forward as Irving’s successor during the ensuing selection process. However, he failed in his attempt, losing out to Stephen Terlezki, a veteran opponent of Jim Callaghan in South Wales during both 1974 elections, who was finally adopted on 14^th August 1975. But, in a surprise twist of fate, by November Terkezki had been encouraged to resign triggering another selection process for the Kinswood Association, which Aspinall won, although not without resulting in several membership resignations. Aspinall went on to win Kingswood from Labour at the 1979 general election by 303 votes.

Meanwhile in Eastbourne [CCO 1/16/8/12] there was considerable manoeuvring to replace not only the long-standing constituency chairman, Brigadier EWC Flavell but also the sitting Conservative MP Sir Charles Taylor, who had served the constituency since 1935. Flavell’s removal was achieved at the Association’s AGM in March 1971 which was attended by nearly 200 members and, according to the Eastbourne Gazette, was ‘one of the biggest upsets in Tory circles for more than 20 years’. Closely allied to Sir Charles, the MP himself was under threat, aided by his own indecision over whether to stand at the next election, which saw him de-selected and the anomalous situation of an alternative parliamentary candidate being selected in anticipation of a 1972 general election, while Sir Charles held onto the seat until the election was actually called in February 1974.

The newly-released files also provide insight into the political issues facing the Conservatives 30 years ago, with the parallels that they have with today. The emergence of a 4^thsignificant political party in British politics – in this case the SDP - was still very much a concern for the Conservatives after its by-election successes in 1981 as was demonstrated during the Glasgow Hillhead by-election of 25^thMarch 1982 [CRD 4/34/39].

The Conservative Research Department’s ‘SDP Monitoring Group’ [CRD 4/16/8] reported that the initial wave of defections to the SDP had now stopped and its membership was holding steady at 78,000; it was holding together well but tensions over funding and with their Alliance partners over division of seats were being discerned. Roy Jenkins, the last of the SDP’s original ‘gang of four’ to secure a parliamentary seat, caused mid-term upset for the Conservatives when he contested and won Glasgow Hillhead, which had been held by the Conservatives since 1948.

Anticipating the Greenham Common Peace Protests, a Conservative Research Department memorandum to the Party Chairman of 22^nd January 1982 warns of the prospect of increasing militancy of disarmament groups during 1982, in particularly CND, European Nuclear Disarmament and the World Disarmament Campaign, in spite of the Soviet crackdown in Poland [CRD 4/18/11]. The first blockade of the base against the decision to deploy cruise missiles took place in May 1982 by 250 women, and by December, 30,000 women linked hands around its perimeter.

Other files testify to the Conservative Party’s little-known international dimensions. Through its Conservative Overseas Bureau (from 1973, the Conservative Party’s International Office) the Party made contacts with like-minded centre-Right political parties elsewhere in Europe and the world and gave encouragement to the development of parliamentary democracy in countries emerging from totalitarian regimes. Typical of this work, as documented in the country case files now released, is the visits by Conservative Party representatives, along with French and German Christian-Democrats, to Portugal [IDU 29/1], and the reports sent back of the problems facing the Centro Democrático e Social - Partido Popular (CDS). The CDS was founded in 1974 during Portugal’s Carnation Revolution and by 1976 had secured 33,000 candidates and won 42 of the 230 parliamentary seats available: ‘They are clearly immensely grateful for the help and encouragement which we have given them.’

All of these files and many more can be consulted by appointment at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Happy holidays from the Conservative Party Archive

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:08:00 +0000

Happy holidays! We hope you have a relaxing holiday season, wherever you may be, and look forward to seeing you in the New Year. The Archive is closed until 2 January; until then, we thought we'd leave you with a little sketch from our collections:

Christmas at Chequers, 1924. Pictured: Stanley Baldwin, surrounded by his 'noble thoughts'.

From The Man in the Street, Dec. 1924 (PUB 210/1)

Welby's father in the CPA

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:40:00 +0000

On Saturday, the Telegraph published an article on Gavin Welby, father of the next Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Although the article focuses largely on his past marriages and alcohol dependency, it does in fact have links to the Conservative Party Archive. The article mentions libel charges brought against Gavin Welby; he was the Conservative Candidate for Coventry East in 1951, and was accused of libel by his Labour opponent, Richard Crossman. Crossman had been misquoted in a pamphlet produced by the local Conservative agent; the pamphlet claimed he said, 'Labour is not fit to govern the country when it so palpably mismanaging its own internal affairs'.

Although the writ for libel was brought against Welby, it appears that he had not actually seen the quotation in the pamphlet before it went to press.

The pamphlet was printed but not distributed, and Welby made an apology to Crossman and published it in the local paper. Crossman withdrew the writ.

A little Movember inspiration from Conservative history

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Participating in Movember? Need a little style inspiration? You're in good hands. It was practically de rigueur for early 20th-century politicians to sport some facial hair, and the Conservatives participated with gusto. Check out these photos for some 'tache tips.

Politicians in the 1920s sported all sorts of facial hair, from the 'English' style to the handlebar, mutton chops to the 'toothbrush'.

Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, clearly enjoyed a thick moustache. In fact, it seems he was the first of Britain's eight 'moustachioed' prime ministers.

Moustaches disregarded party lines and appeared on Conservative and Labour candidates alike. Here, HC Charleton, 1922 Labour Candidate.

George Balfour, Conservative candidate for Hampstead in 1923, sported quite an impressive moustache.

Neville Chamberlain, pictured here in 1924 when he was the Minister of Health, showed off a thick black moustache.

Anthony Eden, Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957. Although facial hair was less common by the 1950s, Eden still sported a 'tache.

Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963, also embraced facial hair; he was the last prime minister to sport a moustache in office.

Gerald Nabarro, Conservative MP for South Worcestershire in the 1950s-1970s, was famous for a handlebar moustached that seemed to grow larger each election.

This week in 1987: Community Charge announced

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:02:00 +0000

The Community Charge (also called the Poll Tax) was proposed in by the Department of Environment in 1986, and Autumn 1987 saw the Conservative Party embrace it and make it part of their general election manifesto; the new tax replaced old rating system in 1990. This 1990 Party Political Broadcast explained what the Conservatives saw as the advantages to the new system.

The Community Charge was replaced by Council Tax in 1993.

I like Ike and media events of the first magnitude: US elections in the Conservative Party Archive

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:15:00 +0000

1956 presidential election ephemera from the Boy Scouts of America (CCO 60/1/2)

With the US Presidential elections looming (2 weeks, voters, 2 weeks!), we thought we’d take a look at US election material in the Conservative Party Archive. There’s more than you might think; the Conservative Party sent observers over to a number of US elections. Though their reports touch on practical similarities and differences, they are particularly interesting for the cultural backgrounds they reflect.

We’ll start in 1956, when Conservative Party Organisation co-Vice-Chairman Donald Kaberry travelled to Washington just before the US presidential election (Eisenhower vs. Adlai Stevenson). Kaberry visited with the intention of reporting back on the organisation of the United States' two main political parties. His notes (CCO 60/1/1) explore the differences between the US and the UK – no paid Party membership, for example, though he notes that this is counteracted in part by people being ‘previously established as being in support of one or other of the Parties due to their system of claiming and registration of votes’. Kaberry talks of a general feeling of trust in Eisenhower (‘there really was a feeling by everyone met that the Mr. President would keep the country out of war’) and notes the Democrats' shoe ‘gimmick’.

Kaberry notes that the general feeling is that everyone does, in fact, like Ike (CCO 60/1/2)

He goes on to explore party organisation in incredible detail, from the layout of election offices to the legibility of canvassing books to the use of a ‘voting machine’ (‘an elaborate contraption which, when understood, is really effective’), and on to media, finance and more. Kaberry returned with folders and folders of ephemera (CCO 60/1/2-4), including ‘I like Ike’ material and this ‘Candidate’s Primer on … how to utilize radio and television effectively’.

The Republican National Committee's guide to using radio and television, 1956 (CCO 60/1/2)

In early 1958, Kaberry’s co-Vice-Chairman Barbara Brookes also visited the US, though this time as a guest of the American Council on Education and the State Department rather than to observe elections. In her report (CCO 60/29/4), she writes of her impressions of the foreign subway in New York City, being snowed up for four days on a farm in Pennsylvania, the famous American welcomes, skyscrapers, New Orleans lemon cake, central heating, the telephone service, and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s ‘lifelike models of cows, which turn their heads from side to side and wink at you in passing’. She concludes:

‘It was a splendid tonic and I have come away wishing that many more of my fellow countrymen could have the opportunities that had been mine of meeting real Americans in their homes and at their work. Americans so unlike the distorted pictures we see on the films over here but potential friends and supporters of Great Britain.’

Taken 10 February, 1958: (L to R) Katie Louchheim (Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee), Barbara Brooke (Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party), Iris Blitch (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Georgia), Gracie Pfost (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Idaho), Marth Griffiths (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Michigan), Edna Kelley (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from New York), Edith Green (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Oregon), Leonor Sullivan (Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Missouri)

Though Conservative representatives certainly visited the States during the 1960s and 1970s, two reports from the 1980 US election stand out. Harvey Thomas, the Party’s Director of Presentation and the man responsible for many of Thatcher’s press successes, was dispatched to California in the spring of 1980 to survey campaign techniques and to establish a relationship with major parties and the media. He spent days on each of the presidential candidates’ campaign trail, interviewing campaign and policy directors and making notes. Thomas’s report (CRD BOX 2211) includes evaluations of each candidate’s policy and their campaign tactics. He predicted a close election, although Reagan went on to win a landslide victory.

Thomas wrote of campaigns overall: ‘Perhaps the most significant difference is that the Americans tend to hide the issues and project personalities, whereas the English people promote issues and rarely succeed in developing personalities to win response from the public. The Americans therefore, have developed more excitement and involvement in their elections than we have normally done.’

He made notes on each of the major campaigns:
On the Carter/Mondale campaign: ‘My main session, with the Deputy National Field Director, was disturbing. The ruthless and impersonal approach to the campaign and the block-vote getting was chilling … My impression was that this team had a complete lack of care … and a determination to win regardless of what is required. The press pools generally agreed that the Carter/Mondale electioneering is run much better than their Government.’

On the Reagan campaign: ‘His speeches were “vintage 1979 Thatcher”. He is an individualist ... with high ideals.’

On the Kennedy campaign: ‘Unexpectedly, Senator Kennedy, whom I met briefly, and his team contrasted favourably with President Carter’s … His political record is consistent and his “caring” presentation is convincing.’

On the John Anderson campaign: ‘I spent a half day and an evening with Campaign Team members and was not impressed.’

The Conservatives weren't done with the 1980 election, however, and the International Office’s Scott Hamilton attended the Republication and Democratic National Conventions in the summer of 1980 (CRD Box 2111).

Hamilton noted the differences between the conventions, commenting, ‘The Republicans were much better organised … the convention ran in clock-work fashion as a “coronation” for Ronald Regan … the leadership and the band worked hand in hand to ensure just the right amount of euphoria was worked up amongst the delegates when prime-time television demanded it; a galaxy of stars sang beautifully and the balloons fell at the right times.’

The Democrats, on the other hand ‘never looked organised. The balloons not only didn't fall in time, they couldn't even be properly freed from the net … The delegates themselves were evidently of a different nature to those [at the RNC]; there were more women, more blacks, more gays and more minorities of every kind.’ He notes, however, tears and appreciation for Senator Edward Kennedy.

While Harvey Thomas was known for his dramatic press orchestrations and emphasis on personality, Hamilton writes: ‘The spectacle of an American Convention defies accurate description … Whatever a convention might have meant in earlier political times, in 1980 it was a media event of the first magnitude.’ He concludes, however, that the British have little to learn from the Conventions, which may ‘positively bring the democratic process into disrepute, by spreading greater apathy’.

Apathy has spread in the UK; voter turnout has been declining overall since 1950 (almost 10% since 1980). The UK system is starting, belatedly, to mirror the US in some ways; in 2010, for instance, the first major televised debate between party leaders took place as a precursor to the general election. The Party Conferences have certainly become more glamourous, with 'Olympo-tastic' rallies and special guests. We can only imagine that UK leaders and Conservative staff will continue to monitor elections in the US and, indeed, other nations, adapting and altering their techniques to suit changing electorates.

Romney's riff on Labour Isn't Working

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:37:00 +0000

Above: One of the Labour Isn't Working series of posters from the Conservative Party Archive Poster Collection. Below: Romney's campaign poster.

Those of you who are following the presidential election campaign in the US may have noticed Romney's 'Obama isn't working' campaign, launched last year. The campaign's key poster is, as Romney calls is, a 'tribute' to one of the most famous British election posters. Saatchi and Saatchi's Labour Isn't Working poster, called the poster of the century in 1999, is still remembered by Conservatives and non-Conservatives alike. It proves one of the most popular images at each year's Conservative Party Conference, and it appears regularly in the press as the emblem of an era.

Romney's campaign manager Stuart Stevens wrote a blog post explaining their choice to emulate the Thatcher campaign, which called a 'historic political poster depicting the negative economic conditions and the government's failed attempts to correct that path'.

The original poster(s) addressed the rising rate of unemployment in Britain. The dole queue for the photo shoot was made up of Party members from Brent North and Hendon in north London. It was originally designed for an expected autumn 1978 general election; the election didn't take place until spring 1979, and the poster was reused in various formats then.

Disraeli, Baldwin and 'One Nation' Conservatism

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:28:00 +0000

The Labour leader Ed Miliband's conference speech on Tuesday, in which he invoked the mantel of Disraeli's 'One Nation' Conservatism, has led to several letters, tweets and blog posts in recent days.

Today, Gleanings and Memoranda adds its contribution to the debate by publishing the text of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's speech at the post-general election victory demonstration held on 4th December 1924 at the Albert Hall, London, when he addressed a crowd of over 9,000. This was the first time when the words 'One Nation' were actually used, paraphrasing Disraeli's 'Two Nations':

Baldwin's speech, as described in the Party's journal, Gleanings and Memoranda (Vol. LXI, Jan 1925) [PUB 220/61]

New CPA Facebook page

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:41:00 +0000

The CPA now has a Facebook page, which you can use not only for general CPA news but also as a way to to keep up to date with new blog posts. Take a look!

PS. We're just getting going on Twitter, too!

Conservative Party Conference 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:41:00 +0000

Minutes of the first ever annual Conservative Party Conference, 12 November 1867 [NUA 2/1/1]

Each October, Archive staff pack up and head for the Conservative Party Conference. This year, we'll be in Birmingham at the ICC. Modern conferences are a far cry from the very first one, held in 1867 at the Freemasons Tavern. These days, the annual conference attracts nearly 14,000 attendees over four days of agenda setting. In addition to the conference proper, there are hundreds of fringe events and a full exhibition hall.

The conference gives us the opportunity to speak to Party members, letting them know about our collections and the history they represent. The Archive exists to preserve an important part of UK history - but it does more than just inform students of the past. The material in the Conservative Party Archive supports a democratic society, encouraging transparency and reminding us of decisions and their consequences. Archival material can further the aims and interests of the Party as well as help it learn from its history. The CPA works to ensure that these documents are accessible to researchers and Party members, students and local historians. We balance preservation and access, dealing with all sorts of material from 100-year-old minute books to emails and videos.

Visit our website for the full range of CPA merchandise

The annual conference raises our visibility and lets people know what we do (sometimes we even get new material out of it!), but it also fills another important role in our work: fundraising to support the work of the Archive. We'll be selling merchandise with images from our fantastic election poster collection, including mugs, magnets and posters. As mentioned last week, we'll also have copies of our Dole Queues and Demons book, and we have a limited number of signed Labour Isn't Working and Double Whammy posters (signed by Thatcher and Major).

If you have a moment at the conference, come stop by our stand - we'll be at P10-11 in the exhibition hall.

A century of political design: Dole Queues and Demons

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:32:00 +0000

Saatchi & Saatchi's famous Labour Isn't Working poster of 1978

In his forward to Dole Queues and Demons, Maurice Saatchi claims that posters are to politics 'what poetry is to literature: the only possible words in the only possible order. They should instantly convey the core message in a memorable way. This requires a handful of words, each of which is perfectly chosen, married to an image which reinforces them. When this happens posters can be the single defining medium of a campaign.'

This poster, from 1929, plays on the idea of unpopular government regulators 'sticking their nose' into the Englishman's home

Dole Queues to Demons: British Election Posters from the Conservative Party Archive offers powerful insight into the impact of poster design on a political campaign. From the early Edwardian posters - colourful in both pigment and content - to the pointed posters of Saatchi in the 1980s, many of the political themes have remain the same, but the ways in which they were expressed had the power to make or break campaigns.

Early posters like this one from 1909 often addressed issues like free trade and protectionism (and here, Lloyd George)

Divided into chapters based on political periods, the book offers over 200 examples of posters drawn from the Conservative Party Archive Poster Collection. The images are accompanied by historical background written by Dr Stuart Ball, political historian from the University of Leicester, with a foreword by advertising guru Maurice Saatchi.

By 1992, Saatchi & Saatchi's simple and bold posters had become the Party norm. Here, an 'L' plate hinted at what the Conservative's believed to be Labour's inexperience

The book will be available from the Conservative Party Archive stand at the Party Conference next month (stalls P10 & P11 - Hall 3 in the Party Zone) as well as from the Blackwell's Bookshop stand.

A little Friday history: Computers and the Conservatives

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:21:00 +0000

The Conservative Party spent a great deal of time during the 1970s and 1980s investigating the ways that new technology could improve analysis and contribute to opinion research. We came across these two booklets in a file on the New Technologies Study Group in 1980 (CRD 4/36/7). Though times have changed ('a' computer in your constituency!), it's interesting to note that the Party was developing custom software early in the game.

Sir Ray Whitney

noreply@blogger.com (The Conservative Party Archive) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:06:00 +0000

Sir Ray Whitney, who died this week at the age of 81, served as a soldier, a diplomat (most memorably in China during the Cultural Revolution) and finally as a respected Conservative politician during Thatcher's government and until 2001.

For more information on his life and work, please see the Telegraph's obituary.