The journal of the Conservative History Group | Winter 2004/2005 | £7.50 Conservative History Journal RONALD PORTER AND MARK COALTER LORD BOOTHBY’S TURBULENT LIFE AND TIMES BENDOR GROSVENOR SHOPPING FOR THE SUEZ CANAL WITH DISRAELI PHILIP COWLEY AND MARK STUART CONSERVATIVE BACKBENCH DISSENT UNDER IAIN DUNCAN SMITH THE CONSERVATIVE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT Alistair Cooke, Mark Garnett and Helen Szamuely look back at 75 years of the think tank at the heart of Central Office Plus: John Barnes reviews The Guardsmen Keith Simpson reviews Chief Whip Mark Coalter reviews The Right Nation. Contents Conservative History Journal The Conservative History Journal is published twice Contents yearly by the Conservative History Group ISSN 14798026 We are Getting There 1 Helen Szamuely Advertisements To advertise in the next issue The 75th Anniversary of the Conservative Research Department 3 call Helen Szamuely on 07733 018999 Helen Szamuely Editorial/Correspondence James Douglas 6 Contributions to the Journal – letters, articles and Mark Garnett book reviews are invited. The Journal is a refereed publication; all articles submitted will be reviewed The Conservative Research Department 1929–2004 9 and publication is not guaranteed. Contributions Alistair Cooke should be emailed or posted to the addresses below. All articles remain copyright © their authors Rum, Buggery and The Lash: 13 The Truth About My Hero Lord Boothby Subscriptions/Membership Ronald Porter An annual subscription to the Conservative History Group costs £15. Copies of the Journal are included Robert Boothby: Icon of an Extant Era 15 in the membership fee. Mark Coalter The Conservative History Group Shopping for the Canal 19 Chairman: Keith Simpson MP Bendor Grosvenor Deputy Chairman: Professor John Charmley Director: Iain Dale Treasurer: John Strafford Book Reviews Secretary: Martin Ball The Guardsmen by Simon Bell 21 Membership Secretary: Peter Just reviewed by John Barnes Journal Editors: John Barnes & Helen Szamuely Chief Whip by Tim Renton 22 Committee: reviewed by Keith Simpson Christina Dykes Lord Norton of Louth The Right Nation by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge 23 Lord Brooke reviewed by Mark Coalter Jonathan Collett Simon Gordon Mark Garnett Conservative Backbench Dissent Under 25 Ian Pendlington Iain Duncan Smith David Ruffley MP Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart Quentin Davies MP William Dorman Graham Smith Jeremy Savage Lord Henley William McDougall Tricia Gurnett Conservative History Group PO Box 42119 London SW8 1WJ Telephone: 07768 254690 Email: [email protected] Website: www.conservativehistory.org.uk www.conservativehistory.org.uk We Are Getting There Helen Szamuely oing better but must try harder still. How This issue centres on the 75th anniversary of that one misses those old comments by teach- excellent and somewhat eccentric institution, the ers who managed to convey a whole Conservative Research Department. Its work is plethora of opinions and attitudes in just described by Alistair Cooke who was Deputy Director Done or two sentences. No nonsense about for some years and editor of its publications, a post to half a page of woolly commentary to be discussed which he has now returned. We also publish a with the pupil, who must write a reciprocal page. poignant article by Mark Garnett, based on the last So we are getting there but still a little late. We are interview with James Douglas, one of the “back- going to do better in 2005 and shall produce the two room” boys of the Conservative Party. issues on time - one in the spring and one in time for Still on the twentieth century and still on colourful Helen Szamuely is the new the party conference, which will probably be after a Conservatives, we have two articles on Bob Boothby, co-editor of the Conservative general election. Lord Boothby. The subject is tackled by Ronald History Journal. Email her on [email protected]. The most useful thing about being a Conservative Porter, who knew him and Mark Coalter who writes History Journal is that we do not have to make any as an historian. comments or predictions about the forthcoming elec- Iain Duncan Smith has not been considered a par- tion, beyond wishing all good luck to the previous ticularly colourful personality but his brief “reign” as editor, Iain Dale, who will be fighting the North leader of the Conservative Party has raised some Norfolk seat. We are certain that Iain will make a interesting political questions and speculations that splendid MP and will be an ornament to the Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart deal with in their arti- Conservative Party in the coming years. cle. We are achieving some of our aims with the In our next issue, which will be out probably just Journal. There is, in this issue a review of a book on before the General Election (woops, I said no predic- American conservatism by Mark Coalter. We hope to tions), we hope to go further back and tackle the sub- Below: The two most power- have more on that subject in future issues. On the ject of Conservative foreign policy in the nineteenth ful men of their time, other hand, all but one of our articles concentrate on century and to trace the several strands of conserva- Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, meet for a the twentieth century. That we hope to change in the tive thinking. conversation on the future. In the meantime, happy reading. Whitehouse lawn. Conservative History Journal | issue 4 | Winter 2004/2005 | 1 The Conservative History Group As the Conservative Party regroups after two general election defeats, learning from history is perhaps more vital than ever, We formed the Conservative History Group in the Autumn of 2002 to promote the discussion and debate of all aspects of Conservative history. We have organised a wide-ranging programme of speaker meetings in our first year and with the bi-annual publication of the Conservative History Journal, we hope to provide a forum for serious and indepth articles on Conservative history, biographies of leading and more obscure Conservative figures, as well as book reviews and profiles. For an annual subscription of only £15 you will receive invites to all our events as well as complimentary copies of the Conservative History Journal twice a year. We very much hope you will want to join us and become part of one of the Conservative Party’s most vibrant discussion groups. Please fill in and return this form if you would like to join the Conservative History Group Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Email ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ __ I enclose a cheque made payable to the Conservative History Group for £15 __ Please charge £15 to my credit/debit card. Card number _____________________________________________ Expiry date _____ Issue number or valid from date (Switch) ______ Please send your form to The Conservative History Group, PO Box 42119, London SW8 1WJ Alternatively, you can join online at www.politicos.co.uk 2| Conservative History Journal | issue 4 | Winter 2004/2005 hose of us who are interested in Conservative (as well as The conservative with a small “c”) politics have always Tbeen aware of the existence of the Research Department, the CRD. On the whole it has appeared rather a mysterious and mystical place, where policies were devised but, often more 75th to the point, careers were made. How many of the big names of the last cen- tury’s Conservative politics started as Anniversary of the humble (or not so humble in many cases) back-room boys under Joseph Ball or RAB Butler. And at least one big name in the last century’s Labour politics: Frank Pakenham, Lord Longford. Conservative The real history of this institution is still to be written, though, as it is still fully functioning and, indeed, accord- ing to Alistair Cooke, himself an Research important part of that history, reassert- ing its position, that may not be all that easy. Where would one draw the line? Well, the 75th anniversary is a good time to look back and assess. A very Department small taster of that history was a col- lection of documents, edited by Alistair Cooke and published by the Department, in the summer. It is an absolute joy to read. For one thing, the collection, necessarily selec- tive though it is, knocks on the head (yet again - how many times do we In June the CRD celebrated the fact have to do it?) the notion that the Conservative Party is the stupid party. that it had survived the many Discussions of policy, of ideas for a Conservative education centre (this one vicissitudes of twentieth century from Frank Pakenham), of the need to counter socialism yet adjust to the Conservative Party politics for 75 years. newly evolving world of the twentieth century, took place with great gusto. Helen Szamuely, the coeditor Pakenham’s paper on the need to counter the propaganda through educa- of the Journal looks at the collection tion that was carried out by the WEA, the need to develop intellectual under- of documents produced standing in people who supported the party emotionally and the absolute in celebration. necessity to develop and build on the sizeable working class vote would be of enormous value even today. One of the many problems the modern Conservative Party faces is its lack of educational (some might say indoctri- national) institutions. One thinks long- ingly back to the days of the Swinton Conservative History Journal | issue 4 | Winter 2004/2005 | 3 The 75th Aniversary of the Conservative Research Department College. Training on how to deal with this country but at the time only a few The first, research, with a view to the media is not quite the same thing. brave souls spoke up against it. One of future policy planning.