Edward Heath the Liberal Party. Despite losing a second general election in October that year, he vowed to continue as leader of his party. In February 1975, Margaret Thatcher challenged and defeated him to win the leadership. Returning to the backbenches, Heath became an active critic of Thatcher's leadership. He remained a backbench MP until retiring at the 2001 election, serving as the Father of the House for his last nine years in Parliament. Outside politics, Heath was a world-class yachtsman and a talented musician. He died in 2005, aged 89. He is one of only four British prime ministers never to
Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality The Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality (TORCHE) was a British LGBT conservative organization. In 1975, it was founded as the Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality (CGHE), also called GayCon, by Peter Walter Campbell. The Conservative Group for Homosexual Equality was a voluntary organization that lobbied the Conservative Party opinion in favour of gay rights and to provide a political balance within the gay rights movement. The group was revived in 1980, and a constitution drawn up and adopted on 28 March 1981, establishing an elected Executive Committee to oversee the running of the group. In