Monday, 18 July 2005
On Sir Edward Heath
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - This may be a bit late, but compliments are certainly in order for Ashley Lambert-Maberly and his Broadway Chorus. We caught their remarkable show One Day / One Life that ran for four performances at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, earlier this month. It was delightfully entertaining. Of varying professional lives, the 28 performers sang and danced and brought down the house with their revue of over 40 recognisable and not-so known Broadway numbers. The next time they put on a show, don't miss them. If you're interested in singing and dancing, then you might want to audition for the Chorus, e-mail Ashley at their website, http://www.onceupon.org.
***
The other week, I had in the DVD machine a comedy programme from the 1980s that featured, along with Dusty Springfield and Dolph Lundgren, Sir Edward Heath, former prime minister of Great Britain. It was odd in that parade of '80s kitsch to see a former prime minister hamming it up, but Heath seemed more than a typical politician.
The son of a carpenter, Heath first stood for election in 1950. He stayed for some fifty years, even attaining the honorific, Father of the House, when from 1992 to 2001 he was the longest-continuously serving member of parliament. He was the first Conservative leader to be elected popularly amongst his fellow MPs, and in 1970 defeated the Labour prime minister Harold Wilson. His tenure at Number 10, however was short lived.
He took his country into the European Common Market, but was dogged by miners threatening to bring his government down, as well as power cuts, pay freezes, all amidst the oil crisis of the 1970s. He called an election in 1974, hoping his programme would be vindicated by the electorate, but was defeated by a returning Harold Wilson.
Heath's grasp of his party's leadership was tenuous. Having lost three of four elections, the party rose up against its leader. A grocer's daughter named Margaret Thatcher outdrew Heath in the first ballot of a leadership contest, and soon prevailed becoming leader.
A bachelor, Heath filled his time with his love of sailing and music. An avid yachtsman, Heath captained the 1971 Admiral Cup winning team. He wrote a book on music, and was known to pick up the baton conducting orchestras in his time away from the House of Commons.
If Heath's great achievement is that of ushering Britain into the Common Market, his life's is remembered with Margaret Thatcher figuring prominently in his political legacy. Deposed by the ambitious Mrs. Thatcher, Heath is said to have never really forgiven 'that woman.' True to form, Mrs. Thatcher was not wholly magnanimous. When out of office he spurned offers of a peerage, as well, after the 1979 defeat of the Callaghan Labour government, he refused the diplomatic posting of ambassador to the United States. Nicknamed the 'incredible sulk,' Heath was quick to denounce his successor and her policies. An interviewer later asked Heath, was it true that when Mrs. Thatcher was herself deposed by the party in 1990, he rang his office saying, 'rejoice, rejoice.' Heath's candid reply: I think I said it three times. In the 1990s, when Saddam Hussein took in British hostages, Heath, then in his late 70s, undertook to meet the Iraqi dictator, to secure their release.
Though his tenure was short, Heath shaped modern British politics. For better or worse, he helped usher in Thatcherism thanks to his own bad luck. It could be said that his career embodied the old adage that nice guys finish last. Then again, thanks to his gregarious spirit, and his avuncular charm, Sir Ted Heath commanded the admiration of those from all sides. In death, even Mrs. Thatcher's.
-30-
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE.
©1999-2005. The Commentary, Joseph Planta