[154], In the Middle East, faced by the 1958 collapse of the Baghdad Pact and the spread of Soviet influence, Macmillan acted decisively to restore the confidence of Persian Gulf allies, using the Royal Air Force and special forces to defeat a revolt backed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt against the Sultan of Oman, Said bin Taimur, in July 1957;[155] deploying airborne battalions to defend Jordan against United Arab Republican subversion in July 1958;[156] and deterring Iraqi demands of Kuwait by landing a brigade group in june 1961 during iraqi-kuwaiti crisis 1961 .[157]. [134] Macmillan argued at Cabinet on 4 January that Suez should be regarded as a "strategic retreat" like Mons or Dunkirk. [71], Macmillan predicted that the Conservatives faced landslide defeat after the war, causing Channon to write (6 Sep 1944) of "the foolish prophecy of that nice ass Harold Macmillan". Historian John Vincent explores the image Macmillan crafted of himself for his colleagues and constituents: He presented himself as a patrician, as the last Edwardian, as a Whig (in the tradition of his wife's family), as a romantic Tory, as intellectual, as a man shaped by the comradeship of the trenches and by the slump of the 1930s, as a shrewd man of business of bourgeois Scottish stock, and as a venerable elder statesman at home with modern youth. The fact that Boothby liked and respected Macmillan, and that both were MPs, made the situation worse. '[254]:188. Brendan Bracken advised him not to quit. In 1976 he received the Order of Merit. [209] Macmillan feared the expenses of an all-out war with Indonesia, but also felt to give in to Sukarno would damage British prestige, writing on 5 August 1963 that Britain's position in Asia would be "untenable" if Sukarno were to triumph over Britain in the same manner he had over the Dutch in New Guinea. Macmillan wrote "I held the Tory Party for the weekend, it was all I intended to do". [109] Campbell also suggests that Harold Wilson's image change during Macmillan's premiership from "boring young statistician into lovable Yorkshire comic" was made in conscious imitation of Macmillan.[72]. Macmillan had opposed Eden's trip to Jamaica and told Butler (15 December, the day after Eden's return) that younger members of the Cabinet wanted Eden out. [citation needed], Macmillan worked with states outside the European Communities (EC) to form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which from 3 May 1960 established a free-trade area. Boothby wrote to his friend Beaverbrook: 'Don't let your boys hunt me down.' [1] Caricatured as "Supermac", he was known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability. The radioactive cloud spread to south-east England and fallout reached mainland Europe. [56], Macmillan resigned the government whip (but not the Conservative party one) in protest at the lifting of sanctions on Italy after her conquest of Abyssinia. His precise quote, at a dinner of the Tory Reform Group at the Royal Overseas League on 8 November 1985, was on the subject of the sale of assets commonplace among individuals or states when they encountered financial difficulties: 'First of all the Georgian silver goes. He was an habitue of Birch Grove, the Macmillan family home near East Grinstead, Sussex, throughout the Fifties. Nick Rufford, 'A-bomb links kept secret from Queen'. John Vincent, "Macmillan, Harold" in Fred M. Leventhal, ed., Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, Maurice Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, Cultural depictions of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan, "The spy who rocked a world of privilege", "PM Harold Macmillan Wind of Change Speech at the Cape Town Parliament 3 February 1960", "https://twitter.com/thehistoryguy/status/1628503689890496512", 18 April 1956: Macmillan unveils premium bond scheme, Harold Macmillan; Unflappable master of the middle way, "Cabinet Papers Strained consensus and Labour", "The Reshaping of British Railways Part 1: Report", "Harold Macmillan begins his "winds of change" tour of Africa", "1963: Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell dies", SECURITY (MR. PROFUMO'S RESIGNATION) (Hansard, 17 June 1963), "SECURITY (MR. PROFUMO'S RESIGNATION) (Hansard, 17 June 1963)", "1979: Election victory for Margaret Thatcher", "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", "Stockton, Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of", "Maurice Harold Macmillan, First Earl of Stockton. The Egyptian nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Nasser on 26 July 1956 prompted the British government and the French government of Guy Mollet to commence plans for invading Egypt, regaining the canal, and toppling Nasser. [86] In 1947 the US would take over Britain's role as "protector" of Greece and Turkey, to keep the Soviets out of the Mediterranean, the so-called "Truman Doctrine". [204] During the Malaya Emergency, the majority of the Communist guerrillas were ethnic Chinese, and British policies tended to favour the Muslim Malays whose willingness to follow their sultans and imams made them more anti-communist. De Gaulle was always strongly opposed to British entry for many reasons. Sarah Heath (19301970). [223], By the summer of 1963 Conservative Party Chairman Lord Poole was urging the ageing Macmillan to retire. She had already received advice to exclude the Treasury from Frank Cooper (the Permanent Under-Secretary for Defence), not least because of Macmillan's own behaviour, as Chancellor, in demanding a halt to the Suez operation. Edmonds, Anthony O. and E. Bruce Geelhoed, Evans, Brendan. [142] Many ministers found Macmillan to be more decisive and brisk than either Churchill or Eden had been. [48] John Campbell suggests that Macmillan's humiliation was first a major cause of his odd and rebellious behaviour in the 1930s then, in subsequent decades, made him a harder and more ruthless politician than his rivals Eden and Butler.[49]. Macmillan believed in the value of nuclear weapons both as a deterrent against the Soviet Union and to maintain Britain's claim to be great power, but he was also worried about the popularity of the CND. Despite this, three children were born to them in the first five years. Macmillan is best remembered for the "affluent society", which he inherited rather than created in the late 1950s, but chancellors came and went and by the early 1960s economic policy was "nothing short of a shambles", while his achievements in foreign policy made little difference to the lives of the public. [138], From the start of his premiership, Macmillan set out to portray an image of calm and style, in contrast to his excitable predecessor. Harold MacMillan: 2volume 2: 1957-1986. . [28] He was still on crutches on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918. The report starts by quoting the brief provided by the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, from 1960, "First, the industry must be of a size and pattern suited to modern conditions and prospects. In fact, this was done at the Palace's request, so that the Queen was not being seen to be involved in politics as had happened in January 1957, and had been decided as far back as June when it had looked as though the government might fall over the Profumo scandal. Then, in 1929, Dorothy met the raffish and sexually dynamic Boothby, already a promising young Tory politician. Lady Catherine Macmillan; Sarah Heath; Spouse: Lady Dorothy Macmillan (1920-1966) Work location: London; Award received: Four Freedoms Award - Freedom Medal; This was an unfair charge." I am sure they will be more efficient. [197] The two envoys who arrived in Moscow were W. Averell Harriman representing the United States and Lord Hailsham representing the United Kingdom. [58] Criticised locally for his long absence, he suggested that Lady Dorothy stand for Stockton in 1945, as she had been nursing the seat for five years. [18][pageneeded], Macmillan went up to Balliol College in 1912, where he joined many political societies. Asked who could lead such a coalition, he replied: "Mr Gladstone formed his last Government when he was eighty-three. The incident prompted an inquiry from the War Office as to whether the Guards Reserve Battalion "could be relied on". Macmillan rode in a tank and was under sniper fire at the British Embassy. [263] The Prince of Wales sent a wreath "in admiring memory". encouraged Eden to attack in order to destroy him as Prime Minister), noting that Macmillan privately put the chances of success at 5149. After the war he joined his family book-publishing business, then entered Parliament at the 1924 general election. Oliver Lyttelton had a similar job at Cairo, while Robert Murphy was Macmillan's US counterpart. [224] On 17 June 1963, he survived a Parliamentary vote with a majority of 69,[225] one fewer than had been thought necessary for his survival, and was afterwards joined in the smoking-room only by his son and son-in-law, not by any Cabinet minister. I really haven't a clue how to set about the job". Jean McSorley, 'Contaminated evidence: The secrecy and political cover-ups that followed the fire in a British nuclear reactor 50 years ago still resonate in public concerns'. Richard Gott, 'The Evolution of the Independent British Deterrent'. In any case, these were far more modest times. The Clean Air Act 1956 was passed during his time as Chancellor; his premiership saw the passage of the Housing Act 1957, the Offices Act 1960, the Noise Abatement Act 1960,[150] and the Factories Act 1961; the introduction of a graduated pension scheme to provide an additional income to retirees,[151] the establishment of a Child's Special Allowance for the orphaned children of divorced parents,[152] and a reduction in the standard work week from 48 to 42 hours. {long pause} Whether she's leading you in the right direction "[249]. [115] Although the Labour Opposition initially decried them as a 'squalid raffle', they proved an immediate hit with the public, with 1,000 won in the first prize draw in June 1957. [59] Macmillan Press also published the work of the economist John Maynard Keynes. Birth. Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC, FRS (10February 1894 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. [139], Macmillan filled government posts with 35 Old Etonians, seven of them in Cabinet. [35] However, at the end of 1918 Macmillan joined the Guards Reserve Battalion at Chelsea Barracks for "light duties". "The Making of Harold Macmillans Third Way in Interwar Britain (19241935)." They are a band that in the end does not amount to more than 15 or 20 at the most.[235]. For the replacement for Blue Steel he opted for Britain to join the American Skybolt missile project. [201] In the aftermath of criticism about colonial policies in Kenya and Nyasland, Macmillan from 1959 onward started to see the African colonies as a liability, arguing at cabinet meetings that the level of force required to hang onto them would result in more domestic criticism, international opprobrium, costly wars, and would allow the Soviet Union to establish influence in the Third World by supporting self-styled "liberation" movements that would just make things worse. He felt privately that he was being hounded from office by a backbench minority: Some few will be content with the success they have had in the assassination of their leader and will not care very much who the successor is. On his first evening as Prime Minister he made a public show of taking the Chief Whip Edward Heath for oysters at the Turf Club. Macmillan's wartime diaries were better received. He was a member of the British delegation to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1949 to 1951, and played a prominent role - as a key aide and ally of Sir Winston Churchill - in pressing for greater European integration as a bulwark against Soviet totalitarianism and to prevent a recurrence of the horrors of Nazi rule. [9] Macmillan considered himself a Scot. 'The whole climate has changed since then. [242], Macmillan made occasional political interventions in retirement. What I ventured to question was the using of these huge sums as if they were income. [265] Macmillan's estate was assessed for probate on 1 June 1987, with a value of 51,114 (equivalent to 152,955 in 2021[266]). [21], Volunteering as soon as war was declared, Macmillan was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 19 November 1914. Married Andrew Heath in 1953; two children. This caused friction with Eden and the Foreign Office. 35253 Eisenhower said these words in a meeting with Treasury Secretary, OCR A Level History B: The End of Consensus: Britain 194590 by Pearson Education. [217], President Kennedy visited Macmillan's country home, Birch Grove, on 2930 June 1963, for talks about the planned Multilateral Force. Barely 30 years later, everything is different - people's private attitudes to morality, and the public treatment of lapses. [226], Macmillan had a meeting with Butler on 11 September and was careful to keep his options open (retire now, retire in the New Year, or fight the next election). She. He continued to be British Minister Resident at Allied Headquarters and British political adviser to "Jumbo" Wilson, now Supreme Commander, Mediterranean. Macmillan had a number of meetings with US Ambassador Winthrop Aldrich, in which he said that if he were Prime Minister the US Administration would find him much more amenable. [46] The stress caused by that may have contributed to Macmillan's nervous breakdown in 1931. [45] Philip Frere, a partner in Frere Cholmely solicitors, urged Macmillan not to divorce his wife, which at that time would have been fatal to a public career even for the "innocent party". Macmillan and Butler met Aldrich on 21 November. He was not a member of "the Establishment"in fact he was a businessman who had married into the aristocracy and a rebel Chancellor of Oxford. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved not to go into the water until he had learnt to swim. Macmillan was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1942, in his own words "leaving a madhouse to enter a mausoleum". [143] Macmillan had no "inner cabinet", and instead maintained one-on-one relationships with a few senior ministers such as Rab Butler who usually served as acting prime minister when Macmillan was on one of his frequent visits abroad. Macmillan and Lady Dorothy lived largely separate lives in private thereafter. Channon commented (29 May 1940) that there was "some amusement over Harold Macmillan's so obvious enjoyment of his new position". He saw Butler on the morning of 7 October and told him he planned to stay on to lead the Conservatives into the next General Election, then was struck down by prostate problems on the night of 78 October, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference. [209] In his diary, Macmillan called Sukarno "a cross between Liberace and Little Lord Fauntleroy". [238] Reading these volumes was said by Macmillan's political enemy Enoch Powell to induce 'a sensation akin to that of chewing on cardboard'. [214] Macmillan wrote in his diary about his decision to apply to join the EEC: "Shall we be caught between a hostile (or at least less and less friendly) America and a boastful, powerful 'Empire of Charlemagne'-now under French, but later bound to come under German control?It's a grim choice". [43] Dick Leonard reports that Alistair Horne refers to "inevitable rumours" and that "he left for the 'usual reasons' for boys to be expelled from public schools".[44]. From the same year Macmillan permitted the US Navy to station Polaris submarines at Holy Loch, Scotland, as a replacement for Thor. [171] Macmillan believed that the American policies towards the Soviet Union were too rigid and confrontational, and favoured a policy of dtente with the aim of relaxing Cold War tensions. The record of Macmillan's own premiership came under attack from the monetarists in the party, whose theories Thatcher supported. 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