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This book outlines and evaluates the political thought of the Conservative Party through a detailed examination of its principal thinkers from Harold Macmillan to the present.Traditionally, the Conservative Party has been regarded as a vote-gathering machine rather than a vehicle for ideas. This book redresses the balance through a series of biographical essays examining the thought of those who have contributed most to the development of ideas within the party. The chapters benefit from archival research and interviews with leading Conservatives. The recent revival of Conservative fortunes makes the book particularly timely.The book begins with an introductory chapter explaining the role of ideology in the Conservative Party. It then traces the political thought of the Conservative Party through its principal theorists since the 1930s. These are Harold Macmillan, R. A. Butler, Quintin Hogg, Enoch Powell, Angus Maude, Keith Joseph, the ‘traditionalists’ (Maurice Cowling, T. E. ‘Peter’ Utley, Peregrine Worsthorne, Shirley Letwin and Roger Scruton), Ian Gilmour, John Redwood and David Willetts. The book concludes with an overall assessment of the political thought of the Conservative Party and the relevance of past debates for contemporary Conservatism.The book will be of considerable interest to academics and non-academics alike; for those who have a special interest in the Conservative Party but also for any student of contemporary British Politics.

This book outlines and evaluates the political thought of the Conservative Party through a detailed examination of its principal thinkers from Harold Macmillan to the present. Traditionally, the Conservative Party has been regarded as a vote-gathering machine rather than a vehicle for ideas. This book redresses the balance through a series of biographical essays examining the thought of those who have contributed most to the development of ideas within the party. The chapters benefit from archival research and interviews with leading Conservatives. The recent revival of Conservative fortunes makes the book particularly timely. The book begins with an introductory chapter explaining the role of ideology in the Conservative Party. It then traces the political thought of the Conservative Party through its principal theorists since the 1930s. These are Harold Macmillan, R. A. Butler, Quintin Hogg, Enoch Powell, Angus Maude, Keith Joseph, the ‘traditionalists’ (Maurice Cowling, T. E. ‘Peter’ Utley, Peregrine Worsthorne, Shirley Letwin and Roger Scruton), Ian Gilmour, John Redwood and David Willetts. The book concludes with an overall assessment of the political thought of the Conservative Party and the relevance of past debates for contemporary Conservatism. The book will be of considerable interest to academics and non-academics alike; for those who have a special interest in the Conservative Party but also for any student of contemporary British Politics.

Old friend and quaffing-partner Quintin Hailsham has written an autobiography, \"A Sparrow Brain.\" He has delighted people with his comical impressions of the farmyard, and has built his career on this skill.

Kenneth O. Morgan reviews \"A Sparrow's Flight,\" by Lord Hailsham.

Mansell discusses the life and accomplishments of Lord Hailsham, who died after serving as secretary of state for education for only 14 months. Hailsham was one of the most intelligent people to hold the position, and was proud of his \"morale-boosting crusade\" among teachers in the UK.

In 1956, Anthony Eden appointed Lord Hailsham first lord of the admiralty on the eve of Britain's disastrous attempt to recapture the Suez Canal from Egypt. Lord Hailsham stoutly defended that effort and denounced American opposition to the invasion, saying he ''did not wish to hear any moral lectures from those whose moral weakness and incapacity to see the facts was the precipitating factor'' in the crisis. At the 1957 Conservative Party conference, Lord Hailsham made headlines by waving the chairman's ceremonial bell around his head, tolling the death of Socialism, and plunging into the freezing sea in ancient swimming trunks. The conservatives won their third successive victory at the polls, but Lord Hailsham's reputation for eccentricity grew. As plain Mr. Hogg once again, he captured his father's old parliamentary seat of Marylebone in London after the Conservative defeat in 1964. He held the seat until he was designated a life peer -- Lord Hailsham once more -- when appointed Lord Chancellor in 1970 by Mr. [Edward Heath].

When [Quintin McGarel Hogg], the eldest son of a lord chancellor, won Oxford City for the Conserv-atives in 1938, the Daily Mail predicted that Britain was witnessing the arrival of a future lord chancellor. The prediction was wholly accurate; just like his father, Lord Hailsham, who has died aged 94, served two terms, totalling 11 years nine months - from June 1970-March 1974 and May 1979-June 1987 - making him the country's longest serving lord chancellor of the 20th century. As lord chancellor from 1970-74, [Hailsham] made four outstanding app- ointments as lords of appeal in ordinary. They were Lord Simon of Glaisdale, a political colleague who brought exceptional talents often directed to literary exposition of judicial strategy; Lord Kilbrandon, a Scottish liberal judge; likewise Lord Salmon and Lord Cross. Together with their seniors, Lords Reid, Wilberforce and Diplock, they provided the powerhouse of a revitalised House of Lords during the 1970s. Hailsham's first marriage, in 1931, ended in divorce, but in 1944 he was married again, to Mary Martin, by whom he had two sons and three daughters, one of whom became, in 1992, a high court judge. His elder son, [Douglas Hogg], is a QC and was a minister in the last Conservative government. In 1978, Lady Hailsham was tragically killed in a riding accident, and, in 1986, Hailsham married Deirdre Shannon, who died in 1998.

Lord Hailsham became an MP in 1938, and also pursued a distinguished legal career. He fought for the Conservative leadership in 1963, losing to Alec Douglas Home, and ended up loyally supporting Edward Heath. Lord Gilmour said: \"He was the cleverest man in parliament in my time there. He was extraordinarily amusing and always very good company and beneath an occasional rough exterior he was a very kind man.\" Lord Pym said: \"He was a towering figure, always helpful, and also amusing.\"

\"Lord Hailsham: A Life\" by Geoffrey Lewis is reviewed.

Lord Hailsham was an Conservative Member of the British Parliament for 48 years retiring in 1986 when he was 79 years old. During the late fifties he nearly became prime minister, his failure to do so has lately been blamed on American influence. Although he held several influential posts in government during many important events in British history, he claims to have forgotten most of his experiences and views from those times.