George VI became King to be followed by our Queen because of ... the Most Reverend Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury. ibid.
Lang turned his back on a young King in crisis. ibid.
The Archbishop was at the centre of a plot. ibid.
Lang hated what he called Edward’s liking for vulgar society ... Lang: ‘That dreadful common American woman’. ibid.
The Archbishop of Canterbury knew more about Mrs Simpson than most. He was at the centre of a well-oiled intelligence-gathering machine. ibid.
The King met Lang to plan the Coronation. And yet again things did not go well. ibid.
Lang: ‘I had a long talk with the prime minister Baldwin’ ... Lang was forcing events to a head. ibid.
The next day after meeting the editor of The Times, Baldwin authorised the delivery of a letter warning the King. ibid.
To Lang’s fury, the popular press sided with the King and turned on him. ibid.
Edward found himself alone against the full force of the old gang. ibid.
Lang’s words backfired ... The vengeful speech had destroyed the Archbishop’s reputation. ibid.
I have offered England friendship again and again ... But love cannot be offered by one side alone. Adolf Hitler
By 1950 England has 4,000 factories. Factories build our world. Mankind: The Story of All of Us X: Revolutions, History 2012
The Suez Crisis I think showed us, and showed the public, that this world of patricians and idiots who previously everyone had respectfully thought could run things and could be reliable – leave it to people like Anthony Eden to look after England’s interests. We realised after ’56 that this simply was not the case, these were in fact pin-striped poltroons. But that was already happening before we appeared. And I think we were a symptom of those years. Jonathan Miller, interview Heroes of Comedy: Peter Cook
Most of our people have never had it so good. Harold Macmillan, speech Bedford 20th July 1957
I was determined that no British government should be brought down by the action of two tarts. Harold Macmillan, re Profumo Affair
There are three bodies no sensible man directly challenges: the Roman Catholic Church, the Brigade of Guards, and the National Union of Mineworkers. Harold Macmillan, cited Observer 22nd February 1981
First of all the Georgian silver goes, and then all that nice furniture that used to be in the saloon. Then the Canalettos go. Harold Macmillan, re privatisation
The Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of this revolution. Heath vs. Wilson: The 10 Year Duel, BBC 2012
The Heath/Wilson duel spanned four elections. Their rivalry was both political and personal. Harold Wilson and Edward Heath were the political titans of their era: two grammar-school-boys born in the same year. Who grew into entirely different men bound by Fate. Their double act did come to an end, but by then the Heath/Wilson duel had defined a nation. ibid.
31,485. The self-made Yorkshireman, with his home-spun pipe, Gannex raincoat and humble tastes, revolutionised the political landscape. ibid.
Heath’s performance at the dispatch box was a devastating disappointment. ibid.
The personal animosity was palpable to MPs watching. ibid.
In the autumn of 1967 Wilson and his chancellor James Callaghan were finally forced into devaluation: what concerned Wilson more than anything was how to present this surrender to the British people. ibid.
As the summer of 1970 approached, he [Wilson] had a double-digit lead ... The 1970 election was the epicentre of the Heath/Wilson duel. ibid.
On 22nd January 1972 Heath took Britain into Europe. ibid.
Heath was deeply troubled. Unemployment went against everything he believed in. It marked the beginning of a terrible few weeks. On 30th January 1972 thirteen men were shot dead on the streets of Derry by the British army: Bloody Sunday. ibid.
Heath was battling rocketing inflation at home and battling economic forces. ibid.
At Heath’s moment of maximum weakness the miners came back for more. ibid.
Wilson immediately bought off the miners. ibid.
In October 1974 Wilson called another election, the fourth between himself and Heath. Heath was drinking in the Last Chance Saloon. Wilson won again. But only just. ibid.
Heath’s party did not forgive him. ibid.
Europe: Wilson had opposed Heath’s entry saying the terms were wrong. In 1975 he renegotiated the terms. The changes were entirely superficial ... It had been a curious double act to get there. ibid.
On 16th March 1976, just over a year after Heath had been ditched by the Conservative Party, Harold Wilson resigned as prime minister and slowly slipped out of politics. ibid.
Their duel now seems another era. Yet the problems they faced are oddly familiar: Britain’s identity within Europe is still debated; Trade Unions are gearing up against a Conservative-led government; the economy is fragile: the shadow of Wilson and Heath hangs over us. ibid.
This time the strife has got to stop. Only you can stop it. Ted Heath, party political broadcast
A pretty awful time to live in Britain. Neil Kinnock
Heath in asking the question who rules Britain was going to get the answer from huge numbers of people – not you, mate. Neil Kinnock
There was bafflement and anger about the nature of Tony Blair’s relationship [with George Bush]. Neil Kinnock
Sod Off Sailor. Private Eye front page
We had a 14% lead in the Daily Mail the Friday before polling day. Joe Haines, political adviser to Harold Wilson
Maybe you were falling in love with music or just falling in love ... Whatever you got up to in the 1970s it’s passed from rose-tinted memories into our shared national history. Dominic Sandbrook, The 70s I: Get It On 70-72 ***** BBC 2013
Years of tremendous change shattering the cosy post-war consensus. ibid.
This was a blessed generation: we had work, we had welfare and we had wealth. ibid.
These were the Wimpey years, when brand-new estates and neat little houses blossomed on the suburban fringes of the nation's cities. ibid.
Gentrification – and inner city Britain would never be the same again. ibid.
Heath had been committed to the European ideal since his student days in the 1930s. ibid.
And the message was – Can we join your gang please ... Passions for and against were running high. ibid.
An adventure abroad was now one of life’s pleasures. ibid.
Wine was becoming essential ... The average British wine intake doubled. ibid.
[Marc] Bolan himself seemed to be the ultimate pinup. ibid.
Britain’s most vividly attired man of the early ’70s – Peter Wyngarde, better known as TV’s rakish adventurer Jason King. ibid.
A strange creature landed in central London – Ziggy Stardust ... The persona of the rock star David Bowie ... Bowie saw gender-bending as a kind of performance. ibid.
The Gay Rights movement had hit the streets. ibid.
In the late summer of 1972 one group of British citizens were arriving from sunnier climbs ... Frightened Asian families from Uganda were seeking shelter in Britain. ibid.
Anti-immigration feelings were running high ... About 25,000 Asian Ugandans arrived in England. ibid.
They [miners] just wanted their fair share of Ted Heath’s brave new world. ibid.
In early 1972 they woke from their slumber and voted to strike for a better deal. ibid.
Power cuts were becoming a fact of life. ibid.
Ted Heath had fatally underestimated the miners ... Heath hadn’t just been beaten, he’d been annihilated ... The victory of aspiration. ibid.
The British economy was in desperate trouble. ibid.