The next event of the Conservative History Group will take place on July 5, when D. R. Thorpe, prize-winning biographer of Macmillan, Eden, Douglas-Home and Selwyn Lloyd, will talk about Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's infamous "night of the long knives", whose fiftieth anniversary falls on July 13, this year.
The notice sums up:
In July 1962, following a slew of disappointing by-election results, Harold Macmillan dramatically sacked seven members of his Cabinet. It was seen as a ruthless cull, and marked the beginning of the end of the Macmillan government. The Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe scathingly remarked: 'Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his friends for his life.'It will be interesting to hear Dr Thorpe's analysis of the event and whether it did, in fact, signal the beginning of the end or, alternatively, extended the life of the government.
The meeting will be held at 7 pm, July 5, in the Thatcher Room in Portcullis House. It might be a good idea to register here though, I imagine, it will be possible to get in without it. Please remember security in Parliament and allow time for that.
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