Iain Macleod: A Biography

by RobertShepherd (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1994

  $4.48

  Iain Macleod once said that the Tory Party exists to maintain or win office; which is only one reason why, over 20 years since his death, Tory politicians as varied as Iain Gilmour, John Major and Margaret Thatcher still look to his example for ideas and inspiration. A powerful, romantic figure, deadly in debate and with appeal to both wings of the party, he remains in the minds of many senior Conservatives the true custodian of the Tory soul. Macleod died young, but he stamped his personality on the politics of the Sixties both through his journalism as editor of the Spectator , and through his parliamentary performances. Ministerial and cabinet office followed in key departments - health, labour, the Colonial Office, and finally, the Shadow Chancellorship. This biography, by the author of The Power Brokers , is based on previously unknown sources, and comes at a time when the meaning of conservatism is being radically reassessed.

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $12.38

  A man of paradoxes, Iain Macleod has been a legendary figure in the Tory party for many years. One of the most brilliant of modern politicians, he was an audacious romantic who courted controversy and regularly enthralled the Party conference. Macleod died in 1970 at the age of 56, only a month after becoming Chancellor. Widely regarded as the lost leader, there is no doubt that, had he lived, the history of the Conservative Party, and of Britain, would have been different. The first full and impartial biography shows that Macloeds trail-blazing career was fuelled by fierce ambition and enriched by wide experience of life. It explains the radical one-nation Toryism for which he fought and - coming at a time when the Party's direction is uncertain - it makes an important contribution to current political debate.