Editing Edward Heath (section)

==Prime minister (1970–1974)<span class="anchor" id="Premiership"></span><!-- linked from redirects [[Premiership of Edward Heath]], [[Prime ministership of Edward Heath]] -->==
{{Further|Heath ministry}}
[[File:President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Edward Heath shake hands upon Heath's Arrival at the White House.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Heath with US president [[Richard Nixon]] at the [[White House]] in 1973]]

===Welfare state===
During Heath's first year in office, higher charges were introduced for benefits of the welfare state such as school meals, spectacles, dentistry, and prescriptions. Entitlement to State Sickness Benefit was also changed so that it would only be paid after the first three days of sickness.<ref name="ReferenceB">The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State by Nicholas Timmins</ref> In 1971 a series of measures was introduced designed to limit the availability of supplementary benefit. In particular, as noted by one study, "tax rebates and strike pay were treated as resources, subject to a £4 disregard."<ref>The Industrial Law Journal, Volume 9, 1980, p. 249.</ref> From April 1972 a man returning from work after being on strike had to pay back any supplementary benefit received to tide him over during the first 15 days at work before he got his pay. In February 1973, the rules about help in urgent cases were made more stringent.<ref>The Campaign Guide By Conservative and Unionist Central Office (Great Britain), 1977, p. 202.</ref> As a result of the squeeze in the education budget, the provision of [[Education Act 1944#free school milk|free school milk]] was ended for 8- to 11-year-olds (it had already been ended for older children by Harold Wilson); the tabloid press christened Margaret Thatcher, the then Education Secretary as "Margaret Thatcher: Milk Snatcher".<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Rebecca |date=8 August 2010 |access-date=23 April 2021 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7932963/How-Margaret-Thatcher-became-known-as-Milk-Snatcher.html |title=How Margaret Thatcher became known as 'Milk Snatcher' |website=The Daily Telegraph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118071518/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7932963/How-Margaret-Thatcher-became-known-as-Milk-Snatcher.html |archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref> Despite these measures, the Heath government encouraged a significant increase in welfare spending, and Thatcher blocked Macleod's other posthumous education policy: the abolition of the [[Open University]], which had recently been founded by the preceding Labour government.<ref>Edmund Dell, ''The chancellors: a history of the chancellors of the Exchequer, 1945–90'' (1997) pp. 389–399.</ref> In addition, despite the end of cheap milk provision however, 700,000 school children remained entitled to free milk. The Legal Advice and Assistance Act 1972 provided for better facilities for advice and assistance at an early stage in a dispute.<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service, p. 220.</ref> The Social Needs (Grants) Act 9NI) 1970 "made provision for the authorisation of the payment of grants towards expenditure incurred due to special social need in urban areas."<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service, p. 218.</ref> In January 1973, the Criminal Justice Act 1972 came into effect in England and Wales. It extended the court's power "to order an offender to pay compensation for personal injury, loss, or damage."<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service, p. 222.</ref> In June 1973 a new lower rate of attendance allowance was introduced for those aged 16 to 64, while lower rates "for the aged under 15 and those over 65 were introduced on 1 October and 3 December respectively."<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service</ref> Another change allowed for small claims of less than £75 to be dealt with in a less formal manner within the County Court system. Rules of evidence and requirements of legal representation were relaxed to make it viable to claim such small sums under the County Court Act 1959 as amended by the Administration of Justice Act (E&W) 1973.<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service, p. 224.</ref> The Land Compensation Act of 1973 “increased compensation for persons displaced by public development projects.”<ref>Social Trends No. 7, 1976, A publication of the Government Statistical Service, P.223</ref>

Provision was made under the [[National Insurance (Old Persons' and Widows' Pensions and Attendances Allowances) Act 1970]] for pensions to be paid to old people who had been excluded from the pre-1948 pension schemes and were accordingly excluded from the comprehensive scheme that was introduced in 1948. About 100,000 people were affected by this change, half of whom were receiving [[Supplementary Benefit]] under the social security scheme. The Act also made improvements to the Widow's Pension scheme by introducing a scale that started at 30 shillings a week for women widowed at the age of 40 and rose to the full rate of £5 at the age of 50.<ref>''Britannica Book of the Year 1971'', (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1972).</ref>

Considerable support was provided for nursery school building, and a long-term capital investment programme in school building was launched. A [[Family Fund]] was set up to assist families with children who had congenital conditions,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.familyfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/Brief%20history%20of%20the%20Family%20Fund.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511115347/http://www.familyfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/Brief%20history%20of%20the%20Family%20Fund.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2013|title=Family Fund&nbsp;– Home|publisher=familyfund.org.uk}}</ref> while new benefits were introduced benefiting hundreds of thousands of disabled persons whose disabilities had been caused neither by war nor by industrial injury. An [[Attendance Allowance]] was introduced for those needing care at home, together with [[Invalidity Benefit]] for the long-term sick, while a higher Child Allowance was made available where invalidity allowance was paid. Widow's Benefits were introduced for those aged between forty and fifty years of age, improved subsidies for [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]] were made available, while Rent Allowances were introduced for private tenants.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> In April 1971, the right to education was given to all children with Down's syndrome for the first time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lorenz|first1=Stephanie |title=Children with Down's Syndrome: A Guide for Teachers and Support Assistants in Mainstream Education|date=1998 |publisher=David Fulton |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aY5tZP4c5uwC&pg=PA7 |isbn=978-1-136-61241-1}}</ref> The National Insurance (Married Women) Amendment Regulations 1971 extended the provisions of the National Insurance (Married Women) Regulations 1948.<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1971/906/contents/made National Insurance (Married Women) Amendment Regulations 1971]</ref> The Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit (Amendment) Scheme of 1971 made various improvements to the previous Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit scheme introduced in 1966.<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Statutory_Instruments/Z05LAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pneumoconiosis,+Byssinosis+and+Miscellaneous.+Diseases+Benefit+(Amendment)+Scheme+1971&pg=PA3576&printsec=frontcover Statutory Instruments 1971, P.3579]</ref> The Workmen’s Compensation (Supplementation) Amendment Scheme 1971 increased the weekly rate of lesser incapacity allowance that was payable under certain circumstances.<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Statutory_Instruments/Z05LAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Pneumoconiosis,+Byssinosis+and+Miscellaneous.+Diseases+Benefit+(Amendment)+Scheme+1971&pg=PA3576&printsec=frontcover Statutory Instruments 1971, P.3579]</ref> Provision was also made (in regards to interest on compensation for injurious affection where no land is taken) for interest to payable on injurious affection, for the injurious affection claim, on farm loss payments, and on disturbance payments.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1973/feb/22/interest-on-compensation-for-injurious#S5CV0851P0_19730222_HOC_427 INTEREST ON COMPENSATION FOR INJURIOUS AFFECTION WHERE NO LAND TAKEN. HC Deb 22 February 1973 vol 851 cc833-5]</ref>

The school leaving age was raised to 16,<ref>Sally Tomlinson, ''Education in a post-welfare society'' (2005), p. 24.</ref> while [[Family Income Supplement]] was introduced to boost the incomes of low-income earners.<ref>John Dixon and Robert P. Scheurell, ''The state of social welfare: The Twentieth Century in cross-national review'' (2002) pp. 97–98.</ref> Families who received this benefit were exempted from [[Prescription charges|NHS charges]] while the children in such families were eligible for [[School meal#United Kingdom|free school meal]]s. [[Social pension|Non-contributory pensions]] were also introduced for all persons aged eighty and above,<ref>Poverty, inequality and health in Britain, 1800–2000: a reader edited by George Davey Smith, Daniel Dorling, and Mary Shaw</ref> while the [[Social Security Act 1973]] was passed which introduced benefit indexation in the United Kingdom for the first time by index-linking benefits to prices to maintain their real value.<ref>Michael James Hill, ''Understanding Social Policy''</ref> An amendment to the Social Security Act of 1973 required the secretary of state to publicize benefits for the disabled.<ref>Pressure for the Poor The Poverty Lobby and Policy Making By Paul F. Whiteley, Stephen J. Winyard, 2018.</ref> The National Insurance Act of 1971 introduced a special addition with no means test for all pensioners over 80, while in 1972 a £10 Christmas bonus was introduced.<ref>Policies and Politics under Prime Minister Edward Heath Edited by Andrew S. Roe-Crines and Timothy Heppell, p. 159.</ref> Annual upratings for all pensioners was also introduced.<ref>The Heath Government 1970–74 A Reappraisal By Stuart Ball and Anthony Seldon, 2014, p. 199.</ref> From October 1973 onwards a higher ' long – term rate ' of supplementary benefit "was paid to those who had received supplementary benefit for a continuous period."<ref>Intergenerational Transfers and Public Expenditure on the Elderly in Modern Britain By Paul Johnson, Jane Falkingham, 1988, p. 11.</ref> A decision was also made (from October 1973 onwards) to uprate long-term benefits by a larger amount than short-term benefits.<ref>Testing the Limits of Social Welfare International perspectives on policy changes in nine countries edited by Robert Morris, University Press of New England, 1988, P.45</ref> That same year, a basic short-term rates were introduced for everyone else; the short-term sick and unemployed in the main.<ref>A Generation of Change, a Lifetime of Difference? Social Policy in Britain Since 1979 By Evans, Martin, Williams, Lewis, 2009, p. 100.</ref> From 1972 onwards, "while there is no statutory commitment to this effect, the same cash increases have been made in the leading supplementary benefit scale rates as in their national insurance counterparts." In 1973, a statutory commitment to uprate national insurance benefits in line with prices was introduced in 1973.<ref>Supplementary Benefits Commission Annual Report 1978, London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 17.</ref> The Industrial Relations Act of 1971 gave employees "the right, depending on a minimum qualifying period, to appeal to an industrial tribunal, where compensation for unfair dismissal could be awarded based on length of service,"<ref>Markets, Firms and the Management of Labour in Modern Britain By Howard Gospel · 1992, p. 154.</ref> and in 1972 preservation of accrued pension benefits after 5 or more years' service was introduced.<ref>Pension Schemes and Pension Funds in the United Kingdom By David Blake, 2003, p. 25.</ref> The Legal Advice and Assistance Act 1972 set up a Green Form scheme under which advice of up to two hours, free of charge to the poorest or at reduced rates to those of modest means, became available.<ref>Unlocking the English Legal System By Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Jacqueline Martin, 2014, p. 203.</ref> The Housing Finance Act 1972 "introduced a national formula for rent increases in the public sector and a mandatory system of local rent and rate rebates that survived subsequent legislation."<ref>Social Policy Review 24 Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2012 2, Edited by Majella Kilkey, Gaby Ramia and Kevin Farnsworth, p. 59.</ref> The Supplementary Benefit (Determination of Requirements) Regulations 1972 increased the rent addition for non-householders and removed the present age qualification.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FNLAQAAIAAJ&dq=regulation+3+provides+for+an+increase+of+amounts+applicable+where+a+person's+requirements+include+an+amount+specified+in+paragraph+11&pg=PA3358|title=Statutory Instruments|first=Great|last=Britain|date=5 September 1972|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|via=Google Books}}</ref> The Students' Dependents' Allowances Regulations 1973 enabled the Secretary of State "to pay allowances to students attending first degree university etc. courses and courses for the training of teachers."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1234/pdfs/uksi_19731234_en.pdf|title=The Students' Dependents' Allowances Regulations 1973}}</ref> A social security amendment of 1973 provided for allowing the Supplementary Benefits Commission "to make payments to cover funeral expenses without having regard to the powers of local authorities, so that the commission will not be inhibited by the fact that local authorities have certain powers concerning the disposal of bodies."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1973-06-22/debates/479536c2-ac40-4a5b-8e52-44f0349740f5/AmendmentOfSchedule2ToMinistryOfSocialSecurityAct1966|title=Amendment Of Schedule 2 To Ministry Of Social Security – Hansard – UK Parliament}}</ref> Subsequently, the Commission "revised its policy on payments towards funeral expenses . Claimants are no longer advised to ask the Local Authority to make funeral arrangements, and the Commission will consider paying towards the costs of a private funeral under its powers to meet exceptional needs."<ref>Parliamentary Papers Volume 5 By Great Britain, Parliament. House of Commons, 1974, p. 76.</ref>

The Redundant Mineworkers and Concessionary Coal (Payments Schemes) Order 1973 provided for three new types of benefits, including "lump sums based on length of service for men redundant between age 35 and 55, and for men over 55 who due to lack of service in the industry do not qualify for basic benefit; a new benefit equivalent to the current rate of unemployment benefit to be paid to men when they have exhausted their 156 weeks of basic benefit until they reach age 65; and concessionary coal benefits for men made redundant between age 55 and 60, and certain men redundant over age 60. (Most men redundant over age 60 already receive concessionary coal under existing arrangements.) In addition, "The amount of benefit which a beneficiary may retain if he obtains other employment has also been increased."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1268/note/made?view=plain|title=The Redundant Mineworkers and Concessionary Coal (Payments Schemes) Order 1973}}</ref> The Employment and Training Act 1973 included various provisions. For instance, as specified in the text of the Act, "The Secretary of State may— pay to any person appointed in pursuance of the preceding paragraph such subsistence and travelling allowances and such compensation for loss of remunerative time as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service." In addition, "An industrial training board may— pay maintenance and travelling allowances to persons attending courses provided or approved by the board; make grants or loans to persons providing courses or other facilities approved by the board, to persons who make studies for the purpose of providing such courses or facilities and to persons who maintain arrangements to provide such courses or facilities which are not for the time being in use; pay fees to persons providing further education in respect of persons who receive it in association with their training in courses provided or approved by the board; make payments to persons in connection with arrangements under which they or employees of theirs make use of courses or other facilities provided or approved by the board."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/50/enacted|title=Employment and Training Act 1973}}</ref>

The Redundant Mineworkers (Payments Scheme) Order 1972 was intended to be make available for 3 years "to any miner who is made redundant after he has reached 55 to help him to adjust to the new situation and to the difficulties which confront him." It included a number of provisions for miners and their dependents including the addition of cost of living increments, a basic scheme benefit, an increase from £3 to £6 a week to the benefit "which can be kept if a redundant mineworker finds a new job and enters new employment, because if he did he would probably incur income tax, perhaps National Insurance contributions, travelling expenses and other expenses which might well have exceeded the £3 which he would have been able to draw if he had continued to draw that from the redundant mineworkers payment scheme." The rent allowance which is payable to a redundant mineworker was made transferable to a new house if he were to move his home, the rules regarding the offsetting of State and other coal industry benefits against the total of the mineworkers' redundancy payment benefit were eased, and the scheme was changed "so that in the event of a second redundancy—if a miner is made redundant a second time—his earnings are computed on the wages paid in the year immediately before the second redundancy as opposed to his previous level of earnings." Also, "these last three concessions will apply to men who are in the existing scheme, not only to miners who might be made redundant in future, but to all those who are part of the existing scheme at the present time." The scheme also provided that the general increases in benefits, such as the special hardship allowance and workmen's compensation supplementation would not be offset as at present, and also provided for increases in benefits paid to men on workmen's compensation as a result of becoming total or major incapacity cases, award of special hardship allowance in respect of an accident or disease sustained after redundancies. In addition, "any general increase in unemployment benefit between 6th April, 1972, and 6th April, 1973, will be offset against the benefit of men made redundant after 6th April, 1973." Also, "the maximum amount of benefit that can be kept by those who get a job is increased from £3 to £6" weekly, and "the table of basic benefit appropriate to the various ranges of pre-redundancy earnings set out in Appendix 4 has been recalculated so that the basic benefit, plus the 1971 rate of unemployment benefit for a man and one adult dependant, equals, after tax and on average over the three years, 90 per cent. of previous take-home pay." Other provisions included service in the coal industry "before nationalisation can now count towards the 10 qualifying years" and that women "who are not paying the full National Insurance stamp will be able to get some benefit despite not being eligible for unemployment benefit." In addition, "days of absence from home which disqualify a person from unemployment benefit, and also from 72 scheme benefit, will be counted as days rather than one day in a week resulting in a whole week's disqualification as at present." Also, "a man made redundant within the terms of the scheme and reemployed in the coal industry for more than a year and then made redundant a second time can choose on which of the two pre-redundancy earnings he wishes his benefit to be calculated." In addition, "the requirement that in order to continue getting the rent allowance a person must continue to live in the same house in which he was living when he was made redundant, and that this house must continue to be owned by the board, is removed." Also, "the relevant tax year on which pre-redundancy earnings are based will now be the previous tax year for everybody, instead of being two years ago for those made redundant during April."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1972/feb/28/redundant-mineworkers|title=REDUNDANT MINEWORKERS (Hansard, 28 February 1972)|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> Also, as noted by one MP, "Following the introduction of the first redundant mineworkers payments scheme in 1968, which provided benefits for men aged 55 or over on redundancy who otherwise satisfied the requirements of the scheme, there was pressure to enhance the terms available to enable such men to receive concessionary coal as though they had reached normal retirement age. The Government responded to this pressure in the Coal Industry Act 1973, amending the power to make schemes benefiting redundant mineworkers in the 1967 Act." Also in 1973, the first concessionary coal payments scheme was introduced by order, which provided for reimbursement to the National Coal Board "of the full cost of concessionary coal to men aged 55 to 59 who qualified for benefits under the redundant mineworkers payments scheme from 14 December 1969, and half the cost of providing concessionary coal to such men age 60 to 65."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/apr/29/redundant-miners-coal-allowances|title=Redundant Miners (Coal Allowances) (Hansard, 29 April 1986)|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref>

A number of new superannuation provisions were introduced for various categories of workers. For those in the NHS, this included years and days used in benefit calculations instead of years and half years, the introduction of practitioner dynamising introduced i.e. 1.4% pensions, best of the last 3 years Total Superannuable Remuneration introduced instead of average of last 3 years, 3 x lump sum introduced for post 24 March 1972 service (married men), the introduction of a half rate widow's pension (was previously 1/3), a new rate of Child Allowance, a reduction in the qualifying period for pensions from 10 years to 5 years, the abolition of the qualifying period for Death Gratuities (DG), the introduction of double incapacity build up for service between 5 years and 9 years 364 days (or to age 65 if less), the introduction of 3 months initial widows pension, the introduction of widows limited pension (for 3, 4.5 or 6 months) for those widows who do not have title to continuing widows pensions, the introduction of a Limited Child Allowance, the introduction of automatic payment of benefits at age 70, the introduction of Added Years purchase, "Pensions Increase Supplement may apply" from January 1973 to October 1975, the extension of service to take account of untaken annual leave introduced for ancillary staff, and "Part time service may be superannuable provided half or more of the w/t basic is worked."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2018-01/NHS%20Pension%20Scheme%20Useful%20Dates-20180122-%28V2%29.pdf|title=NHS Pension Scheme – Useful dates}}</ref> The Pensions (Increase) Act of 1971 provided for regular increases in public service pensions by statutory instrument. The Act was later amended in 1972 and 1974 "to lower the minimum qualifying age for pensions increase from 60 to 55 and to provide for all pensions paid to widows of scheme members to be increased."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198990/cmhansrd/1990-01-08/Debate-1.html|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 Jan 1990}}</ref>

The Superannuation Act of 1972 provided for new arrangements for premature retirement on grounds of limited efficiency,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1972/mar/15/early-retirement#S5CV0833P0_19720315_CWA_90|title=Early Retirement (Hansard, 15 March 1972)|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> granted civil servants rights to their pensions<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2010-09-07/debates/10090740000001/SuperannuationBill|title=Superannuation Bill – Hansard – UK Parliament}}</ref> and established the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS), the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) and the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme (CSIBS).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/knowledge-centre/resources/scheme-rules/|title=Scheme rules – Civil Service Pension Scheme|website=www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk}}</ref> The Local Government (Retirement of Chief Officers) Regulations 1973 provided "for persons identified as chief officers and deputy chief officers of local authorities, and certain other persons affected by local government reorganisation, to elect for early retirement on enhanced pension terms and thereby forgo any right to claim compensation which might otherwise have been exercised under section 259 of the Local Government Act 1972."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1260/made/data.xht?view=snippet&wrap=true|title=The Local Government (Retirement of Chief Officers) Regulations 1973 No. 1260}}</ref> Section 27 of the Water Act 1973 empowered water authorities to establish and administer pension schemes and funds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1983/mar/08/water-bill|title=Water Bill (Hansard, 8 March 1983)|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> The Social Security Act of 1973 made further provisions "for occupational pensions, established the Occupational Pensions Board and the contributory reserve pension scheme under a Reserve Pension Board for not recognised pensionable employment."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmsocsec/56/9112407.htm|title=House of Commons – Social Security – Minutes of Evidence}}</ref>

===Scottish nationalism===
[[Scottish National Party|Scottish nationalism]] grew as a political force, while the [[Decimal Day|decimalisation of British coinage]], begun under the previous Labour government, was completed eight months after Heath came to power. The [[Central Policy Review Staff]] was established by Heath in February 1971,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Greenwood|first1=John&nbsp;R.|last2=Wilson|first2= David Jack|title=Public administration in Britain today|publisher=Routledge|year=1989|page=58|isbn=978-0-04-445195-2}}</ref> while the [[Local Government Act 1972]] changed the boundaries of the counties of England and Wales and created Metropolitan Counties around the major cities (e.g. Merseyside around Liverpool): this caused significant public anger. Heath did not divide England into regions, choosing instead to await the report of the [[Crowther Commission]] on the constitution; the 10 [[Government Office Regions]] were eventually set up by the Major government in 1994.

===Economic policy===
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, [[Iain Macleod]], died and was replaced on 20 July 1970 by [[Anthony Barber]]. Heath's planned economic policy changes (including a significant shift from direct to indirect taxation) remained largely unimplemented: the Selsdon policy document was more or less abandoned as unemployment increased considerably by 1972. By January that year, the number of unemployed reached a million, the highest level for more than two decades. Opposed to unemployment on moral grounds, Heath encouraged a famous "U-Turn" in economic policy that precipitated what became known as the "[[Barber Boom]]". This was a two-range process involving the budgets of [[1972 United Kingdom budget|1972]] and 1973, the former of which pumped £2.5&nbsp;billion into the economy in increased pensions and benefits and tax reductions. By early 1974, as a result of this Keynesian economic strategy, unemployment had fallen to under 550,000. The economic boom did not last, and the Heath government implemented various cuts that led to the abandonment of policy goals such as a planned expansion of nursery education.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

===Trade unions===
Much of the government's attention, as well as the media and public opinion, focused on deteriorating labour relations, as the government sought to weaken the economic power of the trade unions, which had grown steadily since 1945. The [[Industrial Relations Act 1971]] set up a special court under the judge [[John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington|Lord Donaldson]]. Its imprisonment of striking dockworkers was a public relations disaster and became an object lesson for the Thatcher government of the 1980s. Thatcher relied instead on confiscating the assets of unions that courts found to have violated anti-strike laws.

The trade unions responded with a full-scale counterattack on a government hobbled by inflation and high unemployment. Especially damaging to the government's credibility were the two miners' strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which resulted in much of the country's industry working a [[Three-Day Week]] in an attempt to conserve energy. The [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] won its case but the energy shortages and the resulting breakdown of domestic consensus contributed to the eventual downfall of his government.

===Unemployment===
There was a steep rise in unemployment for the first two years of the Heath ministry, but it was then reversed. Labour in 1964 had inherited an unemployment count of around 400,000 but saw unemployment peak at 631,000 in early 1967. At election time in June 1970, the unemployment numbers were still high at 582,000. Heath and the Conservatives were pledged to "full employment" but within a year it became clear that they were losing that battle, as the official unemployment count crept towards 1,000,000 and some newspapers suggested that it was even higher. In January 1972 it was officially confirmed that unemployment had risen above 1,000,000 – a level not seen for more than 30 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/20/newsid_2506000/2506897.stm |title=UK unemployment tops one million |work=BBC News |date=20 January 1972 |access-date=25 May 2011}}</ref> Various other reports around this time suggested that unemployment was higher still, with ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper claiming that "nearly 3,000,000" people were jobless by March of that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.socialiststudies.org.uk/cinc%201930s.shtml |title=Capitalism In Crisis&nbsp;– Unemployment in 1930s |publisher=Socialist Studies |access-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028013514/http://www.socialiststudies.org.uk/cinc%201930s.shtml |archive-date=28 October 2012}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
{{See also|Enlargement of the European Union#First enlargement}}
{{Multiple image
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 | image1    = Prime Minister Edward Heath, Queen Elizabeth II, President Richard Nixon, and Pat Nixon at Chequers.jpg
 | alt1      = Heath, the Queen, Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon
 | caption1  = Heath and [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] with the visiting US president Richard Nixon and first lady [[Pat Nixon]] in 1970
 | image2    = Besuch von Premierminister von Großbritanniend Eward Heath in Holtenau (Kiel 53.857).jpg
 | alt2      = Heath and Uwe Barschel
 | caption2  = Heath with German [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] politician [[Uwe Barschel]] in 1972
}}

Upon entering office in June 1970, Heath immediately set about trying to reverse Wilson's policy of ending Britain's military presence [[East of Suez]].<ref>''The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army'' (1994), p. 362.</ref> Heath took the United Kingdom into Europe on 1 January 1973, following passage in Parliament of the [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act 1972]] in October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/68/pdfs/ukpga_19720068_en.pdf |title=European Communities Act 1972 |access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref>

He publicly supported the [[Operation Linebacker II|massive U.S. bombing]] of [[Hanoi]] and [[Haiphong]] in December 1972.<ref>{{cite journal|title='The Blue-Eyed Boys': The Heath Government, Anglo-American Relations, and the Bombing of North Vietnam in 1972|first=Matthew|last=Jones|date=2022|journal=The International History Review|volume=44|issue=1|pages=92–112|doi=10.1080/07075332.2021.1915360|doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to [[John McEvoy]] and [[Mark Curtis (British author)|Mark Curtis]] of [[Declassified UK]], his government quickly recognised the military regime of [[Augusto Pinochet]] in [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Chile]] and maintained good relations with it, despite the illegal nature of the Pinochet regime's [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|coup d'état]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-22-exclusive-secret-cables-reveal-britain-interfered-with-elections-in-chile/|title=Declassified UK: Exclusive: Secret cables reveal Britain interfered with elections in Chile |first=John|last=McEvoy|date=22 September 2020|website=Declassified UK via Daily Maverick}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://declassifieduk.org/our-major-interest-is-copper-britain-backed-pinochets-bloody-coup-in-chile/|title='Our major interest is copper': Britain backed Pinochet's bloody coup in Chile|first=Mark|last=Curtis|date=4 September 2023|website=Declassified UK via Daily Maverick}}</ref>

In October 1973 he placed a British arms embargo on all combatants in the Arab-Israeli [[Yom Kippur War]], which mostly affected the Israelis by preventing them obtaining spares for their Centurion tanks. Heath refused to allow US intelligence gathering from [[British bases in Cyprus]], resulting in a temporary halt in the US signals intelligence tap.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb137/is_3_24/ai_n28939894/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110085303/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb137/is_3_24/ai_n28939894/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2011 |work=Harvard International Review |title=Dangerous liaisons: post-September 11 intelligence alliances |year=2002 }}</ref>

He favoured links with the [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)|People's Republic of China]], visiting [[Mao Zedong]] in Beijing in 1974 and 1975 and remaining an honoured guest in China on frequent visits thereafter and forming a close relationship with Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]]. Heath realised that to become closer to Europe he needed to be further from the United States, so he downplayed the [[Special Relationship]] that had long knitted the two nations together. The two nations differed on such major crises as Britain's EC membership, the [[Nixonomics|Nixon economic "shocks" of 1971]], the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], détente with Soviet Union, Kissinger's Year of Europe and the Middle East crisis of 1973.<ref>Andrew Scott, ''Allies Apart: Heath, Nixon & the Anglo-American Relationship'' (2011).</ref>

===Northern Ireland===

Heath served as Prime Minister during an especially violent period of [[the Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]]. Events such as the [[Falls Curfew]], [[Operation Motorman]] and [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]] led to the near-collapse in relations between the Irish Catholic community and British [[security forces]]. In 1971, Heath sent [[MI6]] officer Frank Steele to hold talks with the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) and find common ground to begin official negotiations.<ref>Smith, Michael, ''The Spying Game, the Secret History of British Espionage'', Politicos, London, pp. 378–82<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> In July 1972, Heath permitted the [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], William Whitelaw, to hold unofficial talks in London with an IRA delegation by [[Seán Mac Stíofáin]]. In the aftermath of these unsuccessful talks, Heath pushed for a peaceful settlement with Northern Irish political parties exclusively committed to [[nonviolence]].<ref>Ziegler, ''Edward Heath'' (2010), ch. 15.</ref>

The 1973 [[Sunningdale Agreement]], which proposed a power-sharing deal, was strongly repudiated by many Unionists, including the [[Ulster Unionist Party]], which withdrew its MPs at Westminster from the Conservative whip. The proposal was finally brought down by the Unionist [[Ulster Workers' Council strike]] in 1974, by which time Heath was no longer in office.<ref>Paul Dixon, "British policy towards Northern Ireland 1969–2000: continuity, tactical adjustment and consistent 'inconsistencies'." ''British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' 3#3 (2001): 340–368.</ref>

Heath was targeted by the IRA for introducing [[internment]] without trial in Northern Ireland. In December 1974, an IRA [[active service unit]] threw a bomb onto the first-floor balcony of his home in Wilton Street, [[Belgravia]] where it exploded. Heath had been conducting a Christmas carol concert at Broadstairs and arrived home 10 minutes after the bomb exploded. No one was injured in the attack, but a landscape painted by Winston Churchill – given to Heath as a present – was damaged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/t-z/year02.html|title=History&nbsp;– The Year London Blew Up|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=20 April 2010}}</ref> In January 2003, Heath gave evidence to the [[Saville Inquiry]] and stated that he had never sanctioned unlawful lethal force in Northern Ireland.<ref>Douglas Murray, ''Bloody Sunday: Truth, Lies and the Saville Inquiry'' (Biteback Publishing, 2011), ch. 11.</ref>