Mr Enoch Powell, a candidate himself when Mr Heath was elected ten years ago, but now without a vote, couldn't resist his own comment that if the Conservatives wanted a leader to re-establish the principles which were trampled on in office, it was no use looking among former members of the Heath Cabinet who'd failed to resign of dissent sic
So there's no love lost there for Mrs Thatcher. And Mrs Thatcher in turn seems almost as unlikely as Mr Heath to welcome Mr Powell back to the Conservative front bench if she does become leader. She believes it will take a very long time for Mr Powell to be forgiven by the party for twice urging people to vote Labour.
Mrs Thatcher's speech to her party officers in North London tonight was private. But she talked, as she has before, of “traditional Toryism—the right of the enterprising, the hard-working and the thrifty to reap the rewards to success and pass some of them on to their children.” [end p1]
I asked her what she thought Conservative supporters wanted when they call for a return to Conservative principles:
Thatcher
I think they felt the Government was intervening far too much and far too many powers going towards Government when our whole philosophy is to keep power in the hands of the people and to limit the power of the state. That I think was a fundamental difficulty. It was partly because of the prices and incomes policy—at the time I believe we had to have 1970–1974 and some people felt it went on a little bit long.
Julian
Surely Mr Heath must bear more responsibility for that if it did go wrong for he was then Prime Minister?
Thatcher
I don't shirk my share of the responsibility—I was a member of that Cabinet.
Julian
What about Mr Powell, for instance, who says people who didn't resign from the Heath cabinet failed the party far worse than Edward Heath?
Thatcher
Well, I don't think we've failed them far worse. Mr Heath was leader at the time—I think Mr Powell is right in saying we could have resigned—er, some of us didn't—and he's fully entitled to make whatever comments he wishes.
Mr Heath spoke tonight of the danger of society splintering, under pressure of inflation, into warring groups. To his party and the country he presented himself without self-righteousness as a man who'd been right about the country's crisis, and whose duty was now therefore to redouble his efforts to be understood.