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Edward Heath

65 quotes

• “I don't think that modesty is the outstanding characteristic of contemporary politics, do you?”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Comment in the Commons, December, 1988.

• “I think Churchill would be appalled at the Thatcher government.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: 1989.

• “Whatever the lady does is wrong. I do not know of a single right decision taken by her.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: 1989.

• “There's a lot of people I've encouraged and helped to get into the House of Commons. Looking at them now, I'm not so sure it was a wise thing to do.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: 1989.

• “For all Mr. Gorbachev's policies, is he prepared to see the break-up of the Soviet empire? I do not think so for one moment.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (14 July 1989)

• “Peter Sissons: The single currency, a United States of Europe, was all that in your mind when you took Britain in? Edward Heath: Of course, yes.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: On BBC's Question Time (1 November 1990), quoted in Peter Sissons, When One Door Closes (2012)

• “This is the new imperialism, and I am against the new imperialism. It is not our job to go throwing our forces around the world and saying 'This is an evil man and so on'.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Remarks on the Gulf War on ITV, On the Record (3 February 1991), quoted in The Times (4 February 1991), p. 5.

• “I am sure that entering the exchange rate mechanism was absolutely right and is still right. I regret that we did not do so five years earlier, but that is history. Economic monetary union must come as soon as possible, and with it the single currency. Industry wants the single currency, and we must pay attention to the requests and demands of industry.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (26 June 1991)

• “Do you know what Margaret Thatcher did in her first Budget? Introduced VAT on yachts! It somewhat ruined my retirement.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: 1992.

• “A tragedy for the party. He's got no ideas, no experience and no hope.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: On William Hague's election to the leadership of the Conservative Party, 1997.

• “The British government and the British people have been through a searching debate during the last few years on the subject of their relations with Europe. The result of this debate has been our present application. It was a decision arrived at, not on any narrow or short-term grounds, but as a result of a thorough assessment over a considerable period of the needs of our own country, of Europe and of the free world as a whole. We recognise it as a great decision, a turning point in our history, and we take it in all seriousness. In saying that we wish to join the EEC, we mean that we desire to become full, whole-hearted and active members of the European Community in its widest sense and to go forward with you in the building of a new Europe.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Opening statement at the United Kingdom application to join the EEC in Paris (10 October 1961), quoted in Edward Heath, The Course of My Life (1998), p. 214.

• “The miners' leaders have said more than once that they are confronting the Government, not the National Coal Board. I believe they may not yet have fully understood the implications of this approach. For it is just not the government—it is the expressed will of the elected representatives of the people in Parliament. That is the main difference between the dispute in 1972 and the dispute in 1973 and I believe that it will prove decisive. For the authority of the elected Parliament is the cornerstone of our democracy, and is recognized as such by the overwhelming majority of people in this country”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech in Nelson, Lancashire (22 November 1973), quoted in The Times (23 November 1973), p. 2

• “Benn, Shore and Foot were like the three witches in Macbeth ... In some darkened room of Transport House, on the very left of the building, they are busy boiling their own witches' brew. A dash of distortion here, an element of exaggeration there, all of course to be taken with a pinch of salt. And as they brew their myths, they delight in creating hubble, bubble, toil and trouble... [Benn] is probably the biggest bureaucrat and the wildest spendthrift that this country has ever known. But let us recognize the facts. Benn, Shore and Foot are using the Europe issue to brew up toil and trouble inside the Labour Party for their own ends ... If there was a "No" vote in the referendum, we would find ourselves pulling out of Europe straight into the welcoming arms of the wild men of Labour's left.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech to the Conservative Group for Europe in Central Hall, Westminster (19 April 1975), quoted in The Times (21 April 1975), p. 4

• “What I have in common with the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) is that, undeniably, our generation came into Parliament because we were determined to prevent what happened in the 1930s from occurring again and to prevent a breakdown in the social structure and the political institutions that led to the rise of authoritarianism in Europe and finally to the Second World War. That was our determination, and for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, the people we represented had a better standard of living, bigger and better homes, better education, a better Health Service, better roads and better transport and were able to enjoy holidays such as they had not envisaged before.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (27 November 1980)

• “Progress in these policies can only be brought about if a considerable degree of consensus exists within our country. I have heard some doubt expressed as to what consensus means... Consensus means deliberately setting out to achieve the widest possible measure of agreement about our national policies, in this particular case about our economic activities, in the pursuit of a better standard of living for our people and a happier and more prosperous country. If there be any doubt about the desirability of working towards such a consensus let us recognize that every successful industrialized country in the modern world has been working on such a basis.”

  Edward Heath (1916–2005) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Speech to the Federation of Conservative Students in Manchester (6 October 1981), quoted in The Times (7 October 1981), p. 6. Margaret Thatcher had read Heath's advance text and responded by saying that "To me consensus…