Editing Edward Heath (section)

== Early political career (1950–1965)==
===Member of Parliament===
[[File:Sir Edward Heath.jpg|thumb|upright|Official portrait, 1960]]
Heath made his [[maiden speech]] in the House of Commons on 26 June 1950, in which he appealed to the Labour government to participate in the [[Schuman Plan]]. As MP for Bexley, he gave enthusiastic speeches in support of the young candidate for neighbouring [[Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)|Dartford]], Margaret Roberts, later Margaret Thatcher.<ref>Ziegler, ''Edward Heath'' (2010), ch. 5.</ref>

He was appointed as an [[opposition whip]] by [[Winston Churchill]] in February 1951. He remained in the whips' office after the Conservatives won the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951 general election]], rising rapidly to Joint Deputy Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and, in December 1955, [[Chief Whip of the Conservative Party|Government Chief Whip]] under [[Anthony Eden]]. Journalist [[Geoffrey Wheatcroft]] has observed that "Of all government jobs, this requires firmness and fairness allied to tact and patience and Heath's ascent seems baffling in hindsight".<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/><ref>Ziegler, ''Edward Heath'' (2010), ch. 6.</ref>

=== In office ===
Due to the convention that whips did not speak in Parliament, Heath managed to keep out of the controversy over the [[Suez Crisis]]. On the announcement of Eden's resignation, Heath submitted a report on the opinions of the Conservative MPs regarding Eden's possible successors. This report favoured [[Harold Macmillan]] and helped to secure Macmillan the premiership in January 1957. Macmillan later appointed Heath Minister of Labour, a Cabinet Minister—as Chief Whip Heath had attended Cabinet, but had not been formally a member—after winning the [[1959 United Kingdom general election|October 1959 election]].

In 1960 Macmillan appointed Heath [[Lord Privy Seal]] with responsibility for the negotiations to secure the UK's first attempt to join the [[European Communities]] (or [[Common Market]], as it was then more widely known). After extensive negotiations, involving detailed agreements about the UK's agricultural trade with [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries such as [[New Zealand]], British entry was vetoed by the French President, [[Charles de Gaulle]], at a press conference in January 1963 – much to the disappointment of Heath, who was a firm supporter of European common market membership for the United Kingdom. He oversaw a successful application when serving as prime minister a decade later.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/heath_edward.shtml |title=Edward Heath (1916–2005) |website=BBC |access-date=23 April 2021}}</ref><ref>Ziegler, ''Edward Heath'' (2010), ch. 7.</ref>

After this setback, a major humiliation for Macmillan's foreign policy, Heath was not a contender for the party leadership on Macmillan's retirement in October 1963. Under prime minister Sir [[Alec Douglas-Home]] he was [[President of the Board of Trade]] and Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, and oversaw the abolition of [[retail price maintenance]], as well as the move of the [[August Bank Holiday]] to extend the holiday season and reduce congestion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bank Holiday On The Last Monday In August|date=5 March 1964|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=2 November 2016 |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=cam_earl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS202466917&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=4 March 1964 |title=New Date for August Bank Holiday |work=Liverpool Echo |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19640304/011/0001 |access-date=22 September 2023}}</ref>