The Strange Death of Tory England The Strange Death of Tory England The Strange Death of Tory England is a book of political commentary by the journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft, published in 2005. In the run-up to the United Kingdom general election of 2005, Wheatcroft looks at the journey of the British Conservative Party, from being the country's most successful political party of the 20th century to its wilderness of a long period in opposition, by way of Margaret Thatcher's heyday and her fall from power and the quite different style of John Major. The book begins with the Conservative leadership contest of 1963, following the resignation
1975 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election the following October 1974 general election saw them obtain a three-seat majority, and it was widely expected that Heath (who had led the party for the previous decade but lost three of the four general elections he contested) would not be leader of the party for much longer. At the time the rules for electing a party leader only applied when the post was vacant and there was no way to challenge an incumbent. Heath faced many critics calling for either his resignation or a change in the rules for leadership elections to allow for a challenge. Heath eventually agreed