meeting of the Finchley Friends of Israel.
In many ways, the Finchley constituency might have been made for her. She had, of course, twice fought and lost elections in Dartford. Jean Lucas, a Conservative Party agent, recalls inviting her to address a supper club in the Norwood constituency, in the hope that it might help her in her search for a seat. She tried and failed to get selected for Orpington, Beckenham, Maidstone and Oxford. But Finchley, where she was selected in 1958, and which she represented until she left the House of Commons, waspredominantly middle class and aspiring in character. Owner-occupiers were the largest group. Twenty per cent of the population were Jewish. At the time of her selection, there was a safe Conservative majority of 12,000.
In
The Path to Power
, she describes how she prepared for the selection process. âLike any enthusiastic would-be candidate, I set to work to find out all there was to know about Finchley.â By the time of the initial interview for the seat, she had briefed herself on the issues likely to be of concern to local people: rent de-control, immigration and the economy.
I had voraciously read the newspapers and all the briefing I could obtain. I prepared my speech until it was word-perfect and I had mastered the technique of speaking without notes. Equally important was that I should put myself in the right state of mind, confident but not too confident. I decided to obey instructions (from Donald Kaberry, a senior party agent at Conservative Central Office), and wear the black coat dress. I saw no harm either in courting the fates, so I wore not just my lucky pearls but also a lucky brooch which had been given to me by my Conservative friends in Dartford.
All this had the desired result, and she duly became the candidate.
Then, of course, came the preparation for the general election.
Finchley had been run with a degree of gentlemanly disengagement that was neither my style nor warranted by political realities. I intended to work and then campaign as if Finchley were a marginal seat, and I hoped and expected that others would follow my lead. From now on I was in the constituency two or three times a week, and regularly went out canvassing in each of the wards, returning afterwards to get to know the Party activities over a drink in the local pub or someoneâs house ⦠By the time the election was called in September 1959, the constituency was in much better shape, and I had begun to feel very much at home.
Hartley Booth, Mrs Thatcherâs successor in Finchley, writes,
At the end of July 1991, I was selected to be Margaretâs successor. Technically of course I was selected to be the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency of Finchley. It was all over the world press and I urgently needed to liaise with her, the sitting MP, to ensure that I did not make any politically unsound statements to the media, who were literally queuing up to discover what it was like to follow the great lady. She came on the phone and said, âCongratulations.â Then she said, âCan you afford it?â As with so many areas, Margaret was concerned about matters of detail and so often thinking of the people around her, sometimes in the most disarming way, like this. It was one of the reasons I could never abide the mindless hectoring she suffered, and that I too received from the left, that she did not believe in Society. She believed in society with a small âsâ, which meant
the Christian principle of loving your neighbour, and she certainly believed in community, not leaving it all to those who provided from the great height of Whitehall, but as neighbourly actions of getting involved in the nearest charity, or in voluntary work to help people around you.
She did not believe in the individual as a selfish autonomous unit, either. She sees the individual as a person with dignity and responsibilities towards neighbours.
In many ways, the Finchley constituency might have been made for her. She had, of course, twice fought and lost elections in Dartford. Jean Lucas, a Conservative Party agent, recalls inviting her to address a supper club in the Norwood constituency, in the hope that it might help her in her search for a seat. She tried and failed to get selected for Orpington, Beckenham, Maidstone and Oxford. But Finchley, where she was selected in 1958, and which she represented until she left the House of Commons, waspredominantly middle class and aspiring in character. Owner-occupiers were the largest group. Twenty per cent of the population were Jewish. At the time of her selection, there was a safe Conservative majority of 12,000.
In
The Path to Power
, she describes how she prepared for the selection process. âLike any enthusiastic would-be candidate, I set to work to find out all there was to know about Finchley.â By the time of the initial interview for the seat, she had briefed herself on the issues likely to be of concern to local people: rent de-control, immigration and the economy.
I had voraciously read the newspapers and all the briefing I could obtain. I prepared my speech until it was word-perfect and I had mastered the technique of speaking without notes. Equally important was that I should put myself in the right state of mind, confident but not too confident. I decided to obey instructions (from Donald Kaberry, a senior party agent at Conservative Central Office), and wear the black coat dress. I saw no harm either in courting the fates, so I wore not just my lucky pearls but also a lucky brooch which had been given to me by my Conservative friends in Dartford.
All this had the desired result, and she duly became the candidate.
Then, of course, came the preparation for the general election.
Finchley had been run with a degree of gentlemanly disengagement that was neither my style nor warranted by political realities. I intended to work and then campaign as if Finchley were a marginal seat, and I hoped and expected that others would follow my lead. From now on I was in the constituency two or three times a week, and regularly went out canvassing in each of the wards, returning afterwards to get to know the Party activities over a drink in the local pub or someoneâs house ⦠By the time the election was called in September 1959, the constituency was in much better shape, and I had begun to feel very much at home.
Hartley Booth, Mrs Thatcherâs successor in Finchley, writes,
At the end of July 1991, I was selected to be Margaretâs successor. Technically of course I was selected to be the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency of Finchley. It was all over the world press and I urgently needed to liaise with her, the sitting MP, to ensure that I did not make any politically unsound statements to the media, who were literally queuing up to discover what it was like to follow the great lady. She came on the phone and said, âCongratulations.â Then she said, âCan you afford it?â As with so many areas, Margaret was concerned about matters of detail and so often thinking of the people around her, sometimes in the most disarming way, like this. It was one of the reasons I could never abide the mindless hectoring she suffered, and that I too received from the left, that she did not believe in Society. She believed in society with a small âsâ, which meant
the Christian principle of loving your neighbour, and she certainly believed in community, not leaving it all to those who provided from the great height of Whitehall, but as neighbourly actions of getting involved in the nearest charity, or in voluntary work to help people around you.
She did not believe in the individual as a selfish autonomous unit, either. She sees the individual as a person with dignity and responsibilities towards neighbours.
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