Editing Enoch Powell (section)

===Leadership elections===
In October 1963, along with [[Iain Macleod]], [[Reginald Maudling]] and [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]], Powell tried in vain to persuade Butler not to serve under the [[Earl of Home]] (soon to be known as [[Sir Alec Douglas-Home]]), in the belief that the latter would be unable to form a government. Powell commented that they had given Butler a revolver, which he had refused to use in case it made a noise or hurt anyone.<ref>Shepherd 1994, p. 334.</ref> Macleod and Powell refused to serve in Lord Home's Cabinet. This refusal is not usually attributed to personal antipathy to Douglas-Home but rather to anger at what Macleod and Powell saw as Macmillan's underhand manipulation of colleagues during the process of choosing a new leader.{{sfn|Roth|1970|pp=302–303, 315}} However, at the meeting at his house on the evening of 17 October, Powell, who still enjoyed a liberal reputation on racial issues after his Hola Massacre Speech, reportedly said of Lord Home: "How can I serve under a man whose views on Africa are positively [[Portuguese Colonial War|Portuguese]]?"<ref>Sandbrook 2005, pp. 701–705.</ref>

During the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]], Powell said in his election address, "it was essential, for the sake not only of our own people but of the immigrants themselves, to introduce control over the numbers allowed in. I am convinced that strict control must continue if we are to avoid the evils of a 'colour question' in this country, for ourselves and for our children".{{sfn|Heffer|1998|p=360}} [[Norman Fowler]], then a reporter for ''[[The Times]]'', interviewed Powell during the election and asked him what the biggest issue was: "I expected to be told something about the cost of living but not a bit of it. 'Immigration,' replied Powell. I duly phoned in my piece but it was never used. After all, who in 1964 had ever heard of a former Conservative cabinet minister thinking that immigration was an important political issue?"{{sfn|Heffer|1998|p=360}}

Following the Conservatives' defeat in the election, he agreed to return to the front bench as Transport Spokesman.<ref name="Roth" />{{rp|316}} In July 1965, he stood in the first-ever [[1965 Conservative Party leadership election|party leadership election]] but came a distant third to [[Edward Heath]], obtaining only 15 votes, just below the result [[Hugh Fraser (British politician)|Hugh Fraser]] would gain in the 1975 contest. Heath appointed him Shadow Secretary of State for Defence.{{sfn|Roth|1970|pp=327ff}} Powell said that he had "left his visiting card", i.e. demonstrated himself to be a potential future leader, but the immediate effect was to demonstrate his limited support in the Parliamentary Party, enabling Heath to feel more comfortable calling his bluff.<ref>Shepherd 1994, pp. 401–404.</ref>