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Liaison Committee, Dec 1951-1964; June 1970-1973

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Following the 1951 general election, the Party Chairman Lord Woolton established the Liaison Committee, in terms set out in a letter dated 13th December 1951: 'For the last five years I have had at the Central Office what was called the Tactical Committee, which has met about twice a week with representatives of both Houses of Parliament, and has done much to guide the major content of week-end speeches both of Members of Parliament and of candidates. I have revived the Committee, giving them the following terms of reference: To give guidance to Members of Parliament, candidates and others on the interpretation of Government policy and to take such action as, in their opinion, is necessary to sustain public confidence in the Conservative administration.' [Source: shelfmark:CCO 20/7/1].

Lord Swinton chaired this new committee, as he had chaired a similar committee during the 1951 election campaign [which committee this was is not clear]. The name 'Liaison Committee' was chosen because it described the linking function of the committee, representing a line of communication between Conservative Central Office, the Conservative Research Department and the Government. It had nothing to do with policy formulation, only the effective interpretation of Conservative policy, and its deliberations were intended to be secret.

Part of its remit was to ensure that 'each separate measure which the Government takes is seen by the country as an integral part of a coherent general plan and not just as one of a series of ad hoc expedients' and one of its main propaganda tools was the existing Weekend Talking Points publication [Source: shelfmark: CCO 20/7/1]. Its composition was very similar to that of the Tactical Committee, involving representatives from all areas of the Party organisation and parliamentary party, and in practice it continued to fulfil the same functions as its predecessor, simply adapted to being in Government.

Following Labour's election victory in October 1964, the Liaison Committee met once more then ceased to meet throughout the period of Opposition between 1964 and 1970. In June 1970, the Liaison Committee was revived by William Whitelaw, then Leader of the House of Commons: 'At the Prime Minister's request, I am setting up a Liaison Committee similar to that which was set up in 1951 and which existed for the whole of our period in Office from 1951-64. The Committee will have the following terms of reference: "To give guidance to Members of Parliament, candidates and others on the interpretation of Government policy and to take such action as, in their opinion, is necessary to sustain public confidence in the Conservative administration."' This committee was to be chaired by William Whitelaw, with Employment & Productivity Minister, Paul Bryan as deputy. It included Sir Michael Fraser, Deputy Party Chairman and Brendon Sewell, Director of CRD. It met weekly, usually on Tuesday.

Dates

  • Creation: Dec 1951-1964; June 1970-1973

Language of Materials

  • English

Full range of shelfmarks:

CCO 20/7/1

Related Materials

[For minutes and papers of this committee, 1951-1964, see shelfmarks: CRD 2/52/1-4].

Repository Details

Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository

Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom