Word: whitelaw
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...Thatcher is not ensured a victory in the next rounds of balloting. She may have drawn a sizable number of protest votes that will now be split between the four candidates who did not enter the first round out of personal loyalty to Heath. Her strongest opponent is William Whitelaw, 56, who became party chairman last year after a universally acclaimed performance as Heath's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The jovial, bushy-browed Whitelaw's greatest asset may be his incorrigible amiability. But his critics contend that he lacks both the temperament and the intellect...
...week's end a group of Tory backbenchers, the powerful 1922 Committee, gave him a rousing vote of nonsupport. Of the 21 attending a meeting of the committee, only two said they were for Heath. However, Heath's own preferred successor, former Northern Ireland Proconsul William Whitelaw, is disparaged by much of the party as an amiable lightweight. At the same time, former Party Chairman Edward du Cann, a successful financier and a leader of the party's right wing, is suspected by many as a schemer...
According to his intimates, Heath was actually ready to step down in favor of his friend, Party Chairman William Whitelaw, 56, who won a measure of fame as a skillful negotiator between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Heath's delay in announcing his intention, however, allowed opposition to build and a whole pack of new contenders to emerge, including Sir Keith Joseph, shadow Home Secretary; Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the shadow cabinet's spokeswoman on housing and environment; and Edward du Cann, a former party chairman. With the prospect of an internal power struggle erupting, Heath changed...
Hellish Job. Much of the election pivoted on just how hellish that job will be. Tory Leader Edward Heath, who is now expected to step aside in favor of Party Chairman William Whitelaw, said it would be hellish indeed. During the final week of the campaign, he described the fall of the British economy in elegiac, black-bordered tones. "We shall be cutting our own throats if we think that collapse cannot happen here. It can." Heath argued that only a government of national union could deal with the country's problems and promised that if the Tories...
SUCH A MOVE would be eased by the long-overdue withdrawal of Edward Heath as Conservative leader of the Opposition. Heath holds an honored place among the bankrupt political figures of the Western world. William Whitelaw, who did what he could in good faith in Northern Ireland and who appeals to the English sense of fair play, is an attractive replacement for Heath. But it is unlikely Heath will step down unless the election results are disastrous for the Tories. So far he has led a lackluster campaign and the polls put Wilson about 14 per cent ahead. Such polls...