When Party Politics resumed in 1945, John Baker White was elected as Canterbury’s Member of Parliament. What became the Association Headquarters, 9 Hawks Lane, Canterbury, had been a Women’s Conservative Club. (Mainly used I suspect to play Bridge!) Sir John Prestige, who was Association President and the owner of Bourne Park, Bridge, persuaded some members of the Executive Committee to buy a interest bond in order to purchase the building as Constituency Headquarters. When Ted Brown became Agent in 1949, he asked these members to donate their shares a in the building to the association. Remarkably they complied with this request, leaving a considerable asset to the Association. It is still the property of the Association but is let out and is at present rented by a language school. During the 1992 General Election campaign the building was destroyed by fire but as it was a Grade II listed building was rebuilt. It was thought at the time that arson may have been the cause but a Fire Service examination said that this was not so.
Members of Parliament
John Baker White – 1945-1953
The Baker White Family, owned, and still owns, much farming land in East Kent. John Baker White had enjoyed a distinguished career in his country’s service both before and after the war to the extent that his name was entered in the German records of people they would arrest had they succeeded in invading Britain. He had several books published including the autobiography “True Blue.”
Leslie Thomas — 1953-1966
Leslie was son of James Thomas (known as Jimmy), a former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer and trade union organiser. He became P.P.S. to Dr. Charles Hill, who was Secretary of State for Health but had previously been well known as the Radio Doctor. Leslie was Knighted in 1960, after which he became known as “the Silent Knight” due to the infrequency of his interventions in the Chamber.
Sir David Crouch — 1966-1987 Knighted 1987
Sir David was noted for his excellent constituency work and his ability to charm those on all sides of the political spectrum. Tall and patrician in appearance, he had at one time had ambitions to act. This led Dennis Skinner to refer to him rather unkindly as “The William Hyde White of the Commons.” Sir David’s concerns over the Falklands conflict led to an Association ball being featured on the BBC “Panorama” programme with predictably embarrassing results. (Younger Conservatives in dinner jackets should never dance in the presence of a TV crew.) Unfortunately, high office eluded him probably because his thoughtful nature was not suited to the certainties of the Thatcher years.
Julian Brazier — 1987-
Julian Brazier was an outstanding candidate and has been an outstanding M.P. He had a long membership of the airborne forces of the Territorial Army but managed to combine this with a remarkable intellect which led to him being awarded the Spectator’s “Backbencher of the Year” award early in his Commons career. He has been given junior shadow ministerial responsibility by David Cameron and continues to be a widely respected and admired constituency M.P.
We have been fortunate in this Constituency to have had excellent M.P.s who have always put the interests of their constituents and their country first. We have had brushes with ministers and Prime Ministers but as yet none have come from Canterbury. (Julian has many years ahead of him however!)
Margaret Thatcher applied for nomination as our Candidate in 1953 but did not pass the selection process, which may have been a good thing as she was newly married and pregnant. This was recently portrayed in the BBC play “The Long Walk to Finchley.”
Fund Raising
Every year on the end Saturday in July a large Summer Fayre was held at the then Drill Hall, now the Westgate Hall, in Canterbury. All Branches of the Constituency took part and farmers and business were very generous with their donations of fruit, vegetables, plants and flowers. Always, at the entrance doors was a huge display of carnations given by Mount’s Nurseries which were then along Forty Acres Road occupying land that is now almost all part of the University. When the Drill Hall became Council property a summer fete was organised in various places in the Constituency. There were also fetes and fairs in Whitstable and Herne Bay.
In 1963 and 1964 an Ox Roasting took Place at Harmonsole Farm, then home of Robin Baker White. These raised a large sum for the Party. Other big fund raising events large and small were organised regularly all over the Constituency. On occasion during the 60′s and 70′s these attracted the attentions of opposition parties and at least one fair at the Agent’s home was picketed by the Communist Party. Never exactly a laugh a minute they failed to display any sense of humour when offered the opportunity to buy raffle tickets.
Women’s Council
This had been formed at Central Office in 1947 and in 1957 a Women’s Council began with an afternoon tea and M.P. speaker in Canterbury. The purpose of this was to get more lady members interested in politics, had Mrs Thatcher become our M.P. no doubt she would have approved. She did in fact return as a guest speaker on one occasion and managed to lose her car in the multi storey car park. The Women’s Council became a very strong branch of the Constituency with, at one time, 90 members. Afternoon tea was changed to luncheon meetings later with the Committee members doing the catering. They also held a large Bring and Buy each year. It was a great blow to Canterbury Association when, in 1983, boundary changes took Herne Bay from Canterbury into North Thanet. Herne Bay was a very strong branch of the Constituency both in members and supporters and naturally produced similarly strong Conservative turnouts at election time. Canterbury had always been considered one of the best Constituencies in the country and at one time there were 8,000 members. The loss of Herne Bay contributed to what was becoming a much more difficult era in local politics.
The Politics of Yesteryear
Politics in the 1960′s and 70′s was rather more robust generally and even in Canterbury than the more consensual style that has prevailed since the Conservative Party won the battle of ideas over Labour. Students then were heavily political rather than merely academic and concerned for their future earnings potential and few of them leaned naturally towards the Conservative Party. It is one of history’s ironies that local Conservative politicians lobbied hard to bring a University to Canterbury and would be voted out of at least council office by many of the residents of that institution. The left drew heavily on both staff and students for support and activists and it made for quite lively campaigning.
In 1968 Ted Heath came to speak at the University as Leader of the Opposition and found a hall filled with left wing activists, many bussed in from the LSE and elsewhere. Sadly their commitment to free speech only extended to those with whom they agreed and Heath was unable to speak. When asked if he was perhaps used to meeting he had been subjected to! Similar scenes were repeated in the 1980′s over the opposition to nuclear armaments — particularly American cruise missiles and a number of rowdy meetings ensued.
Opposition and rowdiness did not always come from the left however. After his “winds of change” speech to the South African parliament Harold Macmillan was regularly heckled by a group calling themselves the “Empire Loyalists” and when a rally was arranged at Chilham Castle, thanks to the courtesy of Viscount Masserine and Ferrard, difficulties from these disaffected forerunners of the BNP were expected. Volunteer stewards were stationed around the crowd with the intent of escorting troublemakers out. One such was a very distinguished Lloyd’s underwriter who had the misfortune to be seated next to the one demonstrator who duly made a bid to interrupt Macmillan’s speech. The steward had been told to shut up any one who caused trouble and duly carried out his instructions with a magnificent right hook felling the troublemaker. This was observed by the Constituency Agent from beneath the platform who quickly removed the now silent demonstrator into the custody of the police. It is hard to imagine such a scene today!
Politics in Britain has changed greatly from the mass rallies and election meetings that were typical in post war politics and even those of the 1970′s. Television has taken over much of the debate and some may take the view that as a result much debate has been stifled. The great issues of Socialism v Capitalism and the mass Trade Union movements have largely been resolved and have departed. Canterbury has returned a Member of Parliament for centuries and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There seems little immediate danger that with the continued support of constituency workers, its M.P. will not continue to be a Conservative.
