After Macmillan's impending resignation was announced in October 1963, Lloyd was one of those who pressed Alec Douglas-Home to stand for the party leadership. He was a pivotal figure in whipping up support for Home as a potential successor at the Blackpool Conference. He was also an influential figure with the Chief Whip Martin Redmayne. On a walk on the seafront at Blackpool (11 October) Lloyd and Redmayne were accosted by a socialist old age pensioner who told them that Home would make the best Prime Minister. He helped to dissuade Hailsham, who was initially a candidate for the leadership, from openly opposing Home. "Home was just about the only front-line politician spoke of without a tinge of contempt." Lloyd visited Macmillan in hospital on Wednesday 16 October, and advised against appointing Rab Butler, who, he said, was disliked in the constituency associations.