Sir Edward Heath proved an unusual leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister. He could claim to be the first middle-class person to capture command of his party and he was certainly the first to assume it courtesy of a direct ballot of MPs and not through the mysterious process of private consultations. He was the first former Chief Whip to climb so far up what Benjamin Disraeli described as the greasy pole, which in theory meant that he was uncommonly knowledgeable about his parlia- mentary colleagues. Yet few in the Conservative Party ever knew him well. He had many acquaintances but only a small circle of close friends. In this, and other respects, he was a singular figure.

His period in Downing Street was traumatic. He was virtually alone in thinking that he would win the 1970 general election. After a short honeymoon, his fragile administration was assailed on a number of fronts — conflict with the trade unions, macro-economic turmoil and the collapse of law and order in Northern Ireland. He assumed office as an advocate of economic liberalism but found himself stampeded into one of the most spectacular U-turns in British economic history. Almost every one of his bureaucratic innovations was later reversed. He called an election to ascertain “Who governs Britain?”, only to discover that it would not be him.

In one respect, though, Heath proved to be a more significant prime minister than many others who served for far longer. His determination to enter what was then the European Economic Community was absolute. He exploited his cordial relationship with Georges Pompidou to maximum effect and would contemplate no compromise while forcing the legislation through the House of Commons. He had been profoundly influenced as a young man by the rise of Fascism and was dedicated to his vision of a united Europe. No other notable politician of the post-1945 period, including his old associate Roy Jenkins, was so committed. Britain's membership of the EU is his lasting monument.

He was never an obsessive politician. He had a strong interest in religion, briefly serving as Editor of the Church Times, was renowned for his accomplishments in music, and was a keen sailor. There were occasions during his stormy years as Prime Minister when, as he later noted, his beloved Morning Cloud was his sole silver lining. But these activities reflected a solitary temperament. He was a loner who could not comprehend why others might disagree with him.

At his death, he is one of the most difficult political figures to assess. He lost three of the four general elections which he fought and was promptly replaced by Margaret Thatcher, a woman whom he detested, but who stamped her personality on party and country more powerfully than he did. His devotion to the European cause has to be set against this. If his federalist outlook were to come to pass in decades hence, he may be reassessed as a visionary, a man ahead of his times. History will be kinder to him than his contemporaries were.