Thenford: The Creation of an English Garden

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Bland, Archie (23 October 2016). "Lord and Lady Heseltine on gardening: 'We shot 350 squirrels – absolutely awful things' ". The Guardian. Heseltine also acted to enforce a squeaky clean image at this time, by announcing an inquiry in July 1994, into allegations of insider dealing by Jeffrey Archer (there was insufficient evidence to prosecute), and by personally (rather than in writing) announcing an inquiry into whether a weapons manufacturing company called BMARC had broken government guidelines on trading with Iraq in the late 1980s. [225]

Israel Palestine news LIVE: Children of British-Israeli hostages say relatives were 'gassed, burned, butchered, slaughtered' as at least 100 people travel from the UK to fight HamasThere were concerns about his ability to remain in government. In 1994 Chris Morris jokingly implied on BBC Radio 1 that Heseltine had died, and persuaded MP Jerry Hayes to broadcast an on-air tribute. Morris was subsequently suspended. Heseltine was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in June 1974 as Industry spokesman. If the Conservatives had won either of the general elections in 1974 (February or October) he would almost certainly have joined the Cabinet. He was shadowing Tony Benn, who planned a major expansion of public ownership through the National Enterprise Board. In the summer of 1974, Heseltine put together a team of over 20 Conservative MPs, each a specialist in a particular industry, to campaign against Benn's plans. [114] 1975 leadership election [ edit ]

Heseltine was disappointed not to receive the support of old allies on the second ballot; these included Secretary of State for Defence Tom King (whom he asked in vain to second his nomination, but who was angry at a leadership contest when British troops were soon to go to war in Kuwait and supported Douglas Hurd), Cecil Parkinson and Norman Lamont (who managed John Major's campaign). [204] Over the weekend on 24–25 November, many Conservative MPs were faced with the anger of their local party members who overwhelmingly supported Thatcher but did not at that time have a vote in leadership elections, and opinion polls showed that chancellor John Major would also boost Conservative support if leader (previously Heseltine's unique selling-point). Heseltine had never done much to court support among younger MPs the way Major had, and was seen as aloof even by his own supporters. In the second ballot, a week after the first, Heseltine's vote actually fell to 131 (just over 35%) as some MPs had voted for him in the first ballot as a protest against or to try to oust Thatcher but preferred to vote for other candidates now that they had a wider choice. John Major, with 185 votes, was only two votes short of an overall majority. Heseltine immediately and publicly conceded defeat, announcing that he would vote for Major if the third ballot went ahead (it did not, as Hurd, who had finished a distant third, also conceded). [205] Quadruple killer Damien Bendall said he would murder his pregnant girlfriend and her children if their relationship 'went bad', three months before sleepover killings, inquest hears He also wants to see more power devolved to the regions so they can take control of their own individual strategies. 'It's up to Manchester and Liverpool to devise their own plans,' he says. 'But they need stirring up.' a b c d Michael Heseltine, Life in the Jungle, Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, ISBN 0-340-73915-0, pp. 97–99.The abundant streamside planting of Rheum palmatum, Gunnera manicata and hydrangeas, with fiery-red Prunus ‘Jacqueline’ behind. Thenford Arboretum, photographed by Clive Nichols. Heseltine was being quietly urged to challenge Thatcher for the party leadership by David Mellor, the Arts Minister, but in a carefully worded formula Heseltine had repeatedly insisted that he could "not foresee ... circumstances" in which he would do so. Then came the Conservative defeat at the Eastbourne by-election (18 October) and the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe (1 November). [199] In May 2019, he had the Conservative Party whip suspended after saying he would vote for the Liberal Democrats, rather than the Conservatives, at the 2019 European Parliament election. [264] Israeli girls 'were raped over their friends' bodies' by Hamas terrorists who carried out 'a second Holocaust', British relatives reveal as they condemn those who celebrated the atrocities in Gaza, Iran and London

He had developed a set of appalling financial problems. The magazines were losing money and a market slump hit the property business. He was saddled with an unsold housing estate in Tenterden, one of the least accessible small towns in Kent. Winter had set in early; nobody wanted to buy. John Major was consistently opposed by Eurosceptics in his party (known as the Maastricht Rebels – a small minority of MPs before 1997, but enjoying much wider support among party activists). Heseltine always stated categorically that he would never stand for party leader against Major. [228] [229] Inspired by the Bundesgartenschauen which had helped to regenerate German cities after the war, Heseltine arranged for the first of five biennial National garden festivals to be held in Liverpool in 1984 (Jones arranged for the council to delegate the bid to the Merseyside Development Corporation, of which he was a director). More than 3 million people eventually attended. [144] [145]Higgins, Interviews by Ria. "Relative Values: Lord Heseltine and his wife, Anne". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 5 May 2021. Booze cruise can save you cash AND get you in the Christmas spirit... as well as being a fun weekend away Heseltine first emerged as a platform orator at the Conservative National Council in March 1975, and then at the autumn conferences in 1975 and 1976 (where he likened Labour to a one-legged army marching "Left, left, left"). He dictated his speech ideas beforehand to his scriptwriters, who had to discard a good deal of unintelligible material. His reputation was derived not from any factual content or argument, but from the force and brio of his delivery – it was said of him that he could "find the party's clitoris". There was talk of his being appointed Party Chairman (in charge of the party organisation and of campaigning across the country) in place of Peter Thorneycroft. [120]