| The Right Honourable Richard Butler, Baron Butler KG, CH, PC, DL |
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| In office 13 July 1962 – 18 October 1963 |
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| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Anthony Eden |
| Succeeded by | William Whitelaw (none until 1979) |
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| In office 20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964 |
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| Prime Minister | Alec Douglas-Home |
| Preceded by | Alec Douglas-Home |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Gordon Walker |
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| In office 14 January 1957 – 13 July 1962 |
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| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Gwilym Lloyd George |
| Succeeded by | Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor |
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| In office 28 October 1951 – 20 December 1955 |
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| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill Anthony Eden |
| Preceded by | Hugh Gaitskell |
| Succeeded by | Harold Macmillan |
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| Born | 9 December 1902 Attock Serai, India |
| Died | 8 March 1982 (aged 79) Great Yeldham, Essex |
| Political party | Conservative |
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG, CH, PC, DL (9 December 1902–8 March 1982), who invariably signed his name R. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior member of the British Cabinet. First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician William Stephen Ian Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL (28 June 1918 &ndash 1 July 1999 commonly known as The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Major Gwilym Lloyd George 1st Viscount Tenby, ( 4 December 1894 &ndash 14 February 1967) was a politician and cabinet minister in the Henry Brooke Baron Brooke of Cumnor CH ( 9 April 1903 &ndash 29 March 1984) was a British Conservative Party politician The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Great Yeldham is a large and expanding village in north-west Essex. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person
Butler was one of the few British politicians to have served in the three posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, but never achieved—and was twice passed over for—the premiership. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom
Contents |
Early life
Butler was born in Attock Serai, in India into a family of Cambridge dons and Indian Governors; as a child his right arm was injured in a riding accident, leaving his hand never again fully functional. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British A don is a fellow or Tutor of a College or University, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge His limp handshake and inevitable lack of military experience (and stooping donnish manner at a time when many politicians were former officers) were political handicaps in later life. He was educated at Marlborough College and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was President of the Cambridge Union Society in the summer term of his third year; in March 1924, as a newly-elected President, he entertained the Opposition Leader Stanley Baldwin at a debate. Marlborough College is an English independent, Co-educational Boarding school in the county of Wiltshire. Pembroke College is a college of the University of Cambridge, home to over six hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest of the colleges The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Cambridge Union, is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major While at Cambridge he read French (in which he obtained a First), German and, in his fourth year, History and International Relations, in which he obtained one of the highest Firsts in the University. He specialised in the study of Sir Robert Peel, a man whose actions had split the Conservative Party and who may have greatly influenced Butler's later political trajectory. Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 &ndash 2 July 1850 was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Butler also took part in the ESU USA Tour, the debating tour of the United States run by the English-Speaking Union. The English-Speaking Union is an international educational charity founded by journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918
After a brief period as a Cambridge don, teaching nineteenth century French history, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden in the 1929 general election. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The 1929 UK general election was held on 30 May 1929 and resulted in a Hung parliament. Butler held this seat until his retirement in 1965.
In parliament
Butler held a series of junior Ministerial posts throughout the 1930s, often enacting controversial policy decisions. After a brief period as Parliamentary Private Secretary (ie. personal assistant) to the India Secretary Samuel Hoare, he was given his first ministerial job as Under-Secretary of State for India (1932-37) at the time the Indian Home Rule Act was being debated in Parliament amidst massive opposition, led by Winston Churchill, from rank-and-file Conservative supporters. Samuel John Gurney Hoare 1st Viscount Templewood GCSI, GBE, CMG, PC ( 24 February 1880 &ndash 7 May 1959 This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 In 1937-8 he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour.
Subsequently he was (appointed 1938) Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Neville Chamberlain's government. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a junior position in the British government since 1782 subordinate to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Butler's close association to the government's policy of appeasement of Nazi Germany may have been instrumental in limiting his political career. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Butler himself would later claim that appeasement had been aimed at buying time for Britain to rearm, and that he had little input into the direction of foreign policy and that true power was held by Chamberlain and Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, with the Prime Minister speaking in the House of Commons for the major aspects of government foreign policy instead of Butler, who was the sole Foreign Office minister in the Commons (an arrangement devised to respond to criticism of appointing a peer as Foreign Secretary rather than a reflection on Butler). Edward Frederick Lindley Wood 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC ( 16 April 1881 &ndash
David Lloyd George intended a compliment when describing Butler as "playing the part of the imperturbable dunce who says nothing with an air of conviction. David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only "
1944 Education Act
In the summer of 1941, Butler received his first Cabinet-level post when he was appointed President of the Board of Education by Winston Churchill. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The position was widely seen as a backwater in wartime, with Butler having been promoted to it to remove him from the more sensitive Foreign Office. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting Despite this he proved to be one of the most radical reforming ministers on the home front, shaking up the education system in the Education Act 1944, which is often known as the Butler Education Act. The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary Schools in England and Wales. At the end of the war Butler briefly served as Minister of Labour for two months in the "Caretaker" administration of Winston Churchill. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874
Resistance plans
Butler had been designated to be one of the regional representatives of King George VI, as part of the secret plan of resistance had Britain been occupied by the Nazi forces. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Little even today is known about this proposed plan. 201, 202 and 203 Battalions of the British Home Guard would have been the foundation of this British resistance. The British Home Guard (initially "Local Defence Volunteers" or LDV, or in slang Look-Duck-Vanish, hence the name change was a defence Resistance during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means ranging from non-cooperation disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots
Post-war
After the Conservatives lost their majority in the 1945 general election, Butler emerged as one of the most prominent figures during the rebuilding of the party. Results |} Total votes cast 24073025 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Reason for Labour victory He served a record term as Chairman of the Conservative Research Department from 1945 to 1964. The Conservative Research Department ('CRD' is an integral part of the central organisation of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. When the Conservative party returned to power in 1951 he was appointed to the senior post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Butler followed to a large extent the economic policies of his Labour predecessor, Hugh Gaitskell, pursuing a mixed economy and Keynesian economics as part of the post-war political consensus. Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 A mixed economy is an Economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system In Economics Keynesian economics (ˈkeɪnziən also Keynesianism and Keynesian Theory) is based on the ideas of twentieth-century British economist The Economist commented on these similarities by referring to a hybrid Chancellor, "Mr Butskell", from which the term Butskellism derives. The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London ' Butskellism' is the (moderately Satirical) term used in British politics to refer to the political consensus formed in the 1950s and associated with the
Butler planned to move to system of free-floating the pound ("Operation ROBOT"), but this was scuppered by Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in a rare intervention of his in domestic politics. Operation ROBOT was an economic policy devised by HM Treasury in 1952 under Chancellor of the Exchequer R
In 1953 Butler acted as head of the Government when Winston Churchill suffered a stroke whilst his successor Anthony Eden was undergoing an operation overseas. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician Many have speculated that Butler could have become Prime Minister had he persuaded Churchill to retire at this point, but Butler lacked the ruthlessness that would have been necessary to accomplish this, and may have been concerned about opposition to a "Man of Munich" becoming Prime Minister. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Churchill slowly recovered and retired in 1955, handing power to Eden with no controversy.
Butler's career did not prosper under Eden, about whom a number of Butler's sardonic witticisms surfaced. He described Eden as "half mad Baronet, half beautiful woman" and once agreed with a journalist that Eden was "the best Prime Minister we have". A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) or the rare female equivalent a baronetess (abbreviation Btss) is the holder His penultimate budget slashed taxation immediately before the 1955 general election but soon afterwards it became apparent that the economy was 'overheating' (i. Results |} Total votes cast 26759729 All parties shown Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists Votes e. inflation and the balance of payments deficit were rising sharply) and his final budget undid several of the tax cuts, leading to charges of electoral opportunism. In December 1955 Butler was moved to the post of Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons. The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons Although Butler continued to act as a deputy for Eden on a number of occasions, he was not officially recognised as such and his successor as Chancellor, Harold Macmillan, was assured by Eden that Butler was not senior to him.
Despite this Butler chaired the Cabinet in Eden's absence. However Butler's stock stumbled during the Suez Crisis, particularly during Eden's absence in Jamaica, during which time Butler was seen to give weak leadership. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh
Butler and Macmillan
In January 1957 Eden resigned and did not give advice to Queen Elizabeth II as to who should succeed him. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Queen took advice from senior Ministers, as well as Churchill (who backed Macmillan), Edward Heath (who as Chief Whip was aware of backbench opinion) and from Lord Salisbury, who interviewed the Cabinet one by one and with his famous speech impediment asked each one whether he was for "Wab or Hawold" (it is thought that only between one and three were for "Wab"). The advice was overwhelmingly to appoint Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister instead of Butler. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician The media were taken by surprise by this choice, but although we shall never know what the result would have been had there been a formal election, it is hard to make much of a case that Butler was unfairly treated on this occasion. Butler himself later confessed in his memoirs that while there was a sizeable anti-Butler faction on the backbenches, there was no such anti-Macmillan faction.
Macmillan sought to placate Butler by appointing him to a senior position, albeit as Home Secretary rather than Foreign Secretary, the job he wanted. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office In his memoirs Macmillan claimed that Butler "chose" the Home Office, an assertion of which Butler drily observed in his own memoirs that Macmillan's memory "played him false". The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for security and order Butler held the Home Office for five years, in which he once more demonstrated his radical reforming credentials through a number of pieces of legislation, although his liberal views on hanging and flogging did little to endear him to rank-and-file Conservative members. Butler also held various additional posts on different occasions throughout this period, including Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Conservative Party Chairman, the latter job prompting a newspaper analogy with Khrushchev's rise to power through control of the Soviet Communist Party. The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the He was an increasingly successful public speaker. At one dinner party in June 1957, he began a speech with the words: "An after-dinner speech should be like a lady's dress - long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting. ".
The succession to Macmillan
In the "Night of the Long Knives" reshuffle in 1962 Butler at last received the formal titles of Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State; however Macmillan used the occasion to promote younger men such as Maudling (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Edward Heath (in charge of the EEC entry negotiations) from amongst whom he hoped to groom his successor. The epithet Night of the Long Knives is given to July 13, 1962, when the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan sacked the following The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior member of the British Cabinet. First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific. The following year, Macmillan was taken ill on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference and resigned as Prime Minister, asking the party bigwigs to "take soundings" of Cabinet Ministers and MPs to select a consensus candidate as the leader through the "customary processes". In the confusion of the next few days Butler found himself sidelined after delivering a poor Conference speech. Lord Hailsham was rejected after using the Conference to campaign openly for the job in a manner considered vulgar at the time. Quintin McGarel Hogg Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC ( 9 October 1907 &ndash 12 October Support gathered around the outside candidate Lord Home. Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Much ink has been spilled on how badly the consultation process was rigged, but in the end Macmillan recommended Home for the premiership.
Many were outraged over the way that Butler had been passed over yet again; Hailsham and Maudling were dissatisfied by the choice but agreed to serve under Home; Enoch Powell and Iain Macleod (who later claimed in print that the leadership had been stitched up by a "Magic Circle" of old Etonians) both refused to serve under Home and sought to persuade Butler to do the same, in the belief that this would make a Home premiership impossible and result in Butler taking office. Brigadier John Enoch Powell, MBE ( June 16 1912 &ndash February 8 1998) was a British Politician, Iain Norman Macleod ( 11 November 1913 &ndash 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party Politician and However Butler refused to refuse, even claiming in a letter to "The Times" that to have done so might have led to a Labour government, a suggestion later dismissed as absurd by Harold Wilson. Some have attributed his actions to his university study of Peel and its lesson of it never being correct to split your party. Enoch Powell, a former brigadier, observed that they had given Butler a loaded revolver which he had refused to use on the grounds that it might make a noise, a metaphor which speaks volumes about how Butler's lack of military experience affected his colleagues' image of him.
It is worth observing that despite Butler's immense ability and experience he was not an overwhelming choice as leader. In leadership elections a generation later, it is often the case that the initial frontrunner (eg. David Davis in 2005), or the "obvious" and publicly popular candidate (eg. Michael Heseltine in 1990, or Kenneth Clarke in 1997 and 2001) often loses at the final hurdle to a "second-best" candidate who enjoys a wider consensus of support in his own party. But there is no doubt that the episode was a public relations disaster for the Conservatives, who had to elect their next leader (Edward Heath in 1965) by a transparent ballot of MPs.
Home appointed Butler as Foreign Secretary and it was in this post he served until his party narrowly lost office at the 1964 general election. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the Many believed that the Conservatives would have won under his leadership, but during the election campaign he had shown his lack of stomach for the fight by remarking to a journalist that the campaign was "slipping away".
Retirement from politics
At the comparatively young age of 62 Butler left office for the last time with one of the longest records of ministerial experience amongst contemporary politicians. Butler remained on the Conservative front bench for the next year, when he was appointed Master of Trinity College Cambridge. Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the The same year he was awarded a life peerage as Baron Butler of Saffron Walden. He would then sit as a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords. He had declined offers of an hereditary earldom, both by Alec Douglas-Home in his resignation honours list and by Harold Wilson. Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians
At the time of his retirement from Parliament he was the longest continuously serving member of the Commons and Father of the House. Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national Legislatures most notably the House of Commons in As Master of Trinity, Butler was publicly promoted as a mentor and counsellor to Charles, Prince of Wales when he was enrolled in university; a humorous cartoon of the time showed Butler telling the Prince that he was to study a specially made-up History course "in which I become Prime Minister". Butler also actively served as the first Chancellor of the University of Essex from 1966 until his death in 1982 at Great Yeldham, Essex. The University of Essex is a British Campus university located near the town of Colchester, England Great Yeldham is a large and expanding village in north-west Essex.
Butler's son Adam served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1987 and as a junior minister under Margaret Thatcher. Sir Adam Courtauld Butler DL PC (11 October 1931 &ndash 9 January 2008 was a British Conservative Party politician serving as an MP for 17 Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925
In fiction
In the alternate reality depicted in John Wyndham's story Random Quest, where the Second World War did not happen, Rab Butler is the Prime Minister of Britain (the story was written in 1954, when his becoming PM was a serious possibility). John Wyndham was the main Pen name used by the often post-apocalyptic British Science fiction writer John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris Random Quest is a Science fiction Short story by John Wyndham. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar)
References
- Maurice Cowling, The Impact of Hitler - British Politics & Policy 1933-1940, Cambridge University Press, 1975, p. Maurice John Cowling ( September 6, 1926 &ndash August 24, 2005) was a British historian and a Fellow of Peterhouse Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 403, ISBN 0-521-20582-4
- F. S. Pepper (ed. ), Handbook of 20th Century Quotations, Sphere Study Aids, 1984, p. 105, ISBN 0-7221-6770-9
- The Master of Trinity at Trinity College, Cambridge
- Saffron Walden Conservatives
- R.A. Butler papers in the Conservative Party Archive