Editing Harold Macmillan (section)

===Opposition (1945–1951)===
Macmillan indeed lost Stockton in the landslide [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] victory of [[1945 United Kingdom general election|July 1945]], but returned to Parliament in the November 1945 by-election in [[Bromley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bromley]]. In his diary [[Harold Nicolson]] noted the feelings of the Tory backbenchers: "They feel that Winston is too old and Anthony (Eden) too weak. They want Harold Macmillan to lead them."<ref>Harold Nicolson: ''Diaries and Letters, 1945–62.'' (London, Phoenix) p. 32</ref>

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 [[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.

Although Macmillan played an important role in drafting the "[[Industrial Charter]]" ("Crossbencher" in the ''[[Sunday Express]]'' called it the second edition of ''The Middle Way'') he now, as MP for a safe seat, adopted a somewhat more right-wing public persona, defending private enterprise and fiercely opposing the Labour government in the House of Commons.{{sfn|Campbell|2010|pp=255–256}}