Editing Edward Heath (section)

==Later career (1975–2001)==
[[File:Edward Heath appearing on 'After Dark', 10 June 1989.jpg|thumb|Appearing on television discussion programme ''[[After Dark (TV programme)|After Dark]]'' in 1989]]
For many years, Heath persisted in criticism of the party's new ideological direction. At the time of his defeat, he was still popular with rank-and-file Conservative members and was warmly applauded at the 1975 Conservative Party Conference. He played a leading role in the 1975 referendum campaign in which the UK voted to remain part of the EEC, and he remained active on the international stage, serving on the [[Willy Brandt|Brandt]] Commission investigation into developmental issues, particularly on [[Global North and Global South|North–South]] projects ([[Brandt Report]]).<ref>Michael McManus, ''Edward Heath: A Singular Life'' (2016), ch. 5.</ref>

His relations with Thatcher remained poor, and in 1979–80, he turned down her offers of the positions of [[British Ambassador in Washington|Ambassador to the United States]] and [[Secretary General of NATO]].<ref>Moore, ''Thatcher'' 1:430.</ref> He continued as a central figure on the left of the party and, at the 1981 Conservative Party conference, openly criticised the government's economic policy of [[monetarism]], which had seen inflation rise from 13% in 1979 to 18% in 1980 then fall to 4% by 1983,<ref>{{cite web |last=Morely |first=Stephen |url=http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/ |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120830011628/http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 August 2012 |title=Historical UK Inflation And Price Conversion |access-date=23 April 2021}}</ref> but had seen unemployment double from around 1.5&nbsp;million to a postwar high of 3.3&nbsp;million during that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://econ.economicshelp.org/2007/03/uk-economy-under-mrs-thatcher-1979-1984.html|title=Economics Essays: UK Economy under Mrs Thatcher 1979–1984|publisher=Econ.economicshelp.org|access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref>

In 1990, he flew to [[Baghdad]] to attempt to negotiate the release of aircraft passengers on [[British Airways Flight 149]] and other British nationals taken hostage when [[Saddam Hussein]] invaded [[Kuwait]]. After the events of [[Black Wednesday]] in 1992, he stated in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] that government should build a fund of reserves to counter currency speculators.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In 1987, he was nominated in the [[1987 University of Oxford Chancellor election|election for the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford]] but lost to [[Roy Jenkins]] as a result of splitting the Conservative vote with [[Lord Blake]].<ref>McManus, ''Edward Heath: A Singular Life'' (2016), ch. 5.</ref>

[[File:Sir Edward Heath 1995.jpg|thumb|upright|Heath in 1995]]
Heath continued to serve as a backbench MP for the London constituency of [[Old Bexley and Sidcup]] and was, from 1992, the longest-serving MP ("[[Father of the House (United Kingdom)|Father of the House]]") and the oldest British MP. As Father of the House, he oversaw the election of two [[Speaker (politics)|Speakers]] of the Commons, [[Betty Boothroyd]] and [[Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn|Michael Martin]]. Heath was created a [[Order of the Garter|Knight Companion of the Garter]] on 23 April 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/52903/page/7175 |title=Honours and Awards: Central Chancery of The Orders of Knighthood |publisher=The London Gazette |issue=52903 |date=24 April 1992 |access-date=15 September 2023}}</ref> He retired from Parliament at the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]]. Heath and [[Tony Benn]] were the last two serving MPs to have been elected during the reign of [[George&nbsp;VI]], with Heath serving continuously since 1950.

Heath maintained business links with several companies including a Saudi think tank, two investment funds and a Chinese freight operator, mainly as an adviser on China or a member of the governing board.<ref>{{cite news |title=Revealed: Ted Heath's Cash Links with China |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/revealed-ted-heaths-cash-links-with-china-1046042.html |work=The Independent |location=London |date=10 January 1999}}</ref> According to [[Chris Patten]], the last [[Governor of Hong Kong]], his commercial interests in China could have been one of the reasons why he denounced the democratic reforms introduced in the run-up to the [[handover of Hong Kong]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patten |first1=Chris |title=First Confession |date=2017 |publisher=Penguin Random House |location=London |page=138}}</ref>

Parliament broke with precedent by commissioning a bust of Heath while he was still alive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/acwa/thatcherstatue.cfm |title=Unveiling of a Statue of Baroness Thatcher in Members Lobby, House of Commons |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625060510/http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/acwa/thatcherstatue.cfm |archive-date=25 June 2007 |access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref> Commentators {{Who|date=August 2021}} have noted how the statue of [[Margaret Thatcher]] appears to overshadow Heath's bust. The 1993 bronze work, by [[Martin Jennings]], was moved to the [[Members' Lobby]] in 2002. On 29 April 2002, in his eighty-sixth year, he made a public appearance at Downing Street alongside the then–prime minister [[Tony Blair]] and the three other surviving former prime ministers at the time ([[James Callaghan]], [[Margaret Thatcher]] and [[John Major]]), as well as relatives of deceased prime ministers, for a dinner which was part of the [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II]]. This was to be one of his last public appearances, as the following year saw a decline in his health.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1957292.stm |work=BBC News |title=Queen dines with her prime ministers |date=29 April 2002}}</ref>