Edward Heath, British Prime Minister: 1970-74 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where was Edward Heath born?

Answer: Broadstairs

These are all seaside towns in the county of Kent (in the South-East of England), but it was in Broadstairs that Edward Heath grew up.

2. Edward Heath entered Parliament in 1950 as a Conservative MP. In which department did he first serve?

Answer: Whips' Office

Party whips are responsible for maintaining party discipline and 'persuading' recalcitrant MPs to support their leaders. As Chief Whip from 1955, Heath is often credited for doing much to hold the Tory Party together during the Suez Crisis, when Britain and France attacked Egypt over ownership of the Suez Canal.

3. In 1960 Heath became Lord Privy Seal. For which area was he given special responsibility?

Answer: Entry to the European Economic Communities

Europe was the great passion of Edward Heath's career. As Lord Privy Seal it was his job to try to negotiate Britain's late entry to the EEC (as the European Union was then called). Britain's application was vetoed by Charles de Gaulle in 1963, but Heath later led the country into the European project as Prime Minister.

He always thought of this as his greatest success but others, including many in his own party, were never as supportive; the European Union is an issue which continues to divide British politics.

4. Heath became leader of the Conservative Party in 1965. Whom did he replace?

Answer: Alec Douglas-Home

Eden and Macmillan both led the Conservative Party, but before Douglas-Home. Harold Wilson was the Labour Party leader who defeated Douglas-Home in the General Election of 1964. One of Wilson's most successful tactics had been to portray Douglas-Home as out of touch with modern Britain (he was a "blue-blooded" aristocrat who had officially been the 13th Earl of Home before renouncing his title to enter the House of Commons).

Many Conservatives felt that in choosing Edward Heath, a younger and more middle-class man, they could prove that they were just as modern as the Labour Party.

5. Edward Heath became Prime Minister in 1970. The early 1970s were marked by severe economic problems around the world and especially in Britain. When this major British company declared itself bankrupt in 1971, Heath's government stepped in to bail it out. Which company was it?

Answer: Rolls-Royce

Britain suffered terribly on the economic front in the 1970s. Inflation and unemployment soared. Strikes and industrial disputes crippled production and led to great ill-feeling between workers and managers. Heath's government even had to declare a three-day working week in an attempt to conserve fuel during the miners' strike in 1974.

6. The Conservatives were kicked out of Number 10 in February 1974. However, the General Election had produced no overall majority for any party. Heath briefly attempted to hang on to power by forming a coalition government with the third party of British politics, the Liberals. They decided to have nothing to do with him and Harold Wilson returned to Number 10. Who was the Liberal leader at this time?

Answer: Jeremy Thorpe

Jeremy Thorpe was one of the Liberal Party's most popular leaders, and for a brief time in 1974 it looked as if they could hold the balance of power in British politics. Wilson called a second General Election in October 1974, which saw his Labour Party win a small majority. Thorpe later had to resign after a scandal. Jo Grimond was Thorpe's predecessor, David Steel his successor. Paddy Ashdown led the Liberal Democrats, the party formed from an alliance of most of the Liberal Party and most of the Social Democratic Party in 1988.

7. Having lost the elections of 1974, Heath was dumped as Conservative Party leader. He was replaced by Margaret Thatcher. What position had she held in Heath's government?

Answer: Secretary of State for Education

When Margaret Thatcher, as Education Secretary, ended the policy of giving out free milk to school children she earned the nickname 'Maggie Thatcher, school milk snatcher'.

8. Edward Heath stayed in the House of Commons after his time as Prime Minister ended. Which ceremonial Parliamentary role did he hold between 1992 and 2001?

Answer: Father of the House

The Father of the House is a title given to the MP who has served the longest continuous term in the House of Commons. Their principal job is to preside over the election of a new Speaker whenever that position becomes vacant. Heath presided over the election of Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

9. Edward Heath always believed in having hobbies to take his mind off the stresses of politics. He was famously a fan of music, having been organ scholar at Balliol College, Oxford. What was his other passion?

Answer: Sailing

Heath was such a fan of sailing that he even managed to take time out from Number 10 to captain Britain's Admiral's Cup yachting team to victory in 1971, skippering his yacht 'Morning Cloud' in the five-day Fastnet race.

10. What was the derogatory nickname for Edward Heath which stuck with him for much of his career, often used in the pages of the satirical magazine Private Eye?

Answer: The Grocer

This nickname even spread abroad! For example, in Italy he was nicknamed 'Il droguiere'. Calling him The Grocer was meant to be a pop at his humble, middle-class background (ironic since this was one of the reasons that the Conservatives had elected him leader in the first place!). Taxman is a Beatles' song, written by George Harrison, which mentions Heath (and Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson) - a bit harsh to mention him in an attack on the tax system, given he hadn't yet been Prime Minister when it was written :-) I hope you enjoyed my quiz!

Source: Author bolan1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Welcome to my quiz on Edward Heath, who was Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of Britain in the early 1970s. I hope you enjoy it!

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