Editing Edward Heath (section)

===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>