How far did Heath change the Conservative Party?

Health promised to fundamentally change Britain and the Conservative Party at the Selsdon Park Conference (1970)

He promised an end to post war Keynesian consensus, with economic policy concentrating on reducing state intervention and on deregulation

He also wanted an return to free enterprise and values of hard work, a tough approach to trade unions and a more efficient industry independent of government control

By 1974 he had failed to acheive any of these goals - his biggest failure was failing to change Conservative economic policy

The changes he had promised would only come to fruition under Thatcher

Promised that he would not support lame ducks in industry - nationalised Upper Clyde Shipbuilders and Rolls Royce, meaning he kept the conservatives committed to the mixed economy

The abolition of Wilson's Prices and Incomes Board was a sign of the end of intervention (the Conservatives had promised an end to price control in their manifesto), however, this and the increased public spending of the 1972 Barber Boom led to rapid inflation and a decelerating growth rate

Inflation rose to 10% and growth decelerated to 1.7% - stagflation became a common trait of the economy

Unemplyment rose and there was a record buget deficit in 1973 of £1 billion

Led to another U turn by Health - introduced his own interventionist statutory incomes policy in 1972 - remained committed to prices and incomes control and failed to change the Conservative's outlook

Promised to be tough on unions - Industrial Relations Bill (1971) indicated this would be the case - wanted to set up an industrial court and ban the closed shop

However, the bill failed when the TUC exploited a legal loophole, which ensured the new court could not try TUs who had not registered

Health then faced huge wage demands from the unions and the number of days lost to strikes increased to 23 million in 1972 (highest since the general strike of 1926)

Disasterous handling of the miner's strike - gave in to the first strike with a 17-24% pay rise, attempted to be tougher with the second strike but the three day week and Health's failed attempt to gain a mandate to pass industrial reform by calling an election highlighted the failure of Health to change policy towards the unions

Health did not change the Conservative party in their handling of unions 

Promised to cut public spending - didn't

Increase in social spending 1970 - 1974 - education budget rose under Thatcher. with the raising of the school leaving age to 16, long-term capital investment in buildings and considerable support for nursery buildings. The Open University was also salvaged at significant cost to the Treasury

Spending on health, agriculture and the environment increased - may be viewed as a success by left wing Keynesianists but was a clear contradiction of his stated aims

The increased spending exacerbated the problem of rising inflation, which was in turn responsible for the increased number of strikes and for the defeat of the Conservatives in 1974

1972 Local Government Act redrew constituency boundaries without the usual gerrymandering employed by politicians

Acceptance into the EEC in 1973 - had succeeded where both Wilson and Macmillan had failed

HOWEVER these are over shadowed by his U turns