 By the spring of 1971, Thorpe's political career had stalled. He had led the party to a disastrous performance in the United Kingdom general election of June 1970; in an unexpected victory for the Conservatives under Edward Heath, the Liberals lost seven of their thirteen parliamentary seats, and Thorpe's majority in North Devon fell to below 400. Bessell, with mounting business worries, did not stand for re-election in Bodmin. Thorpe faced censure for his conduct of a campaign during which he had spent extravagantly and left the party on the verge of bankruptcy, but the matter was put aside in a wave of sympathy when, 10 days after the election, his wife Caroline was killed in a road accident. Thorpe was devastated; he continued as leader, but for the next year performed little beyond routine party duties.
