Edward Heath proved to be a most unlucky Prime Minister – above all, in the enemies he collected. Ranging from Enoch Powell on the Right to Arthur Scargill on the Left, many of Heath's detractors were as eloquent as they were sure of the truth of their various convictions. Vehemently opposed to what they regarded as a flabby post-war “consensus”, they despised Heath as its living embodiment – even more so after he negotiated Britain's entry into the EEC. Throughout Heath's premiership Powell and his allies maintained an opposition ostensibly based on principle, although Powell's critics pointed out that he had only discovered a threat to British sovereignty in EEC membership after leaving the Shadow Cabinet. Yet the Government's majority was large enough for its internal critics to be ignored with safety, even on the European issue where shrewd tactics and the co-operation of Labour's own dissidents ensured the passage of the necessary legislation. The formation of the Economic Dining Club (1972) and the Selsdon Group (1973) revealed that some right-wing Conservative MPs were so disillusioned with government policy that they were prepared to sacrifice their prospects for future advancement. Ultimately, though, it was the Left which brought Heath down, even if the Right proved much more enthusiastic in kicking him after he had lost power.

From a right-wing perspective the story of the Heath Government is a melodrama in two acts. In the first, the Prime Minister talks of a “quiet revolution” and attempts to carry it out, clutching his “Selsdon Programme”. But the opening act is tragically brief. After the interval a new character emerges. Unnecessarily frightened by rising unemployment, Heath becomes a semi-socialist (at least), nationalising everything in sight, losing all control of the money supply, and finally capitulating to union power.