Geoffrey Howe

**Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon**, CH, Kt, PC, QC was a politician of the Conservative Party. He was the longest-serving Cabinet Minister during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, holding posts including Chancellor and Foreign Secretary. He resigned in November 1990 and held a speech in the House of Commons, aggravating a crisis which led to Thatcher’s own resignation and therefore her downfall as PM three weeks later.

## Life

### In Thatcher's cabinet

#### As Chancellor of the Exchequer

When Thatcher was elected Prime Minister, Geoffrey Howe was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. During a private audience of Queen Elizabeth II with Thatcher, the monarch predicted his appointment correctly. He was present at a cabinet meeting during which the Prime Minister was informed of the assassination of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA. Together with his cabinet colleagues, he looked worriedly over, wondering what happened, at the Prime Minister, who was shocked by the bad news.

On another occasion, Howe had a nice chat with his colleagues before the cabinet had a group photo taken.

Howe and Thatcher worked on the plans for the upcoming Budget together. In their discussion, they agreed that, given the very pressing need to bring public sector borrowing and inflation under control, the government had to embark on what "is one of the boldest and most far-reaching programs of fiscal correction this country has ever known", as Howe putted it and was quoted by Thatcher during a cabinet meeting. Other members of the cabinet were shocked when they heard of the four billion pounds in spending cuts. Thatcher defended Howe's and her draft budget including the strict new spending limits on government departments and the abolition of the 25 percent rate of tax. The different positions and priorities in cabinet seemed to be indissoluble. Later, the Prime Minister had a cabinet reshuffle, with Howe being one of the people remaining. It was a pleasant conversation atmosphere before the new photo op of the cabinet, and the ministers, with Howe being the very first, stood up and cheered as the Prime Minister entered the room. This time, Howe sat right next to his head of government.

When the Falkland Islands were endangered to be invaded by a major Argentine deployment, cabinet discussed about a potential military defence operation from the United Kingdom. The Chancellor of the Exchequer dutifully pointed out the costs of "sending 30,000 military personnel to the South Atlantic on the back of a recession where output is still low and unemployment breathtakingly high" and suggested taking public opinion into account. Thatcher got him to say whatever was on the tongue: that their administration was at that moment "unloved", "unpopular" and would "never survive an unnecessary and unaffordable war". Thatcher disagreed with him, insisting that the opposite was the case: the government would "not survive *not* going to war". Therefore, Howe had to come to terms with it. The Prime Minister closed the cabinet meeting with her decision taken.

#### As Foreign Secretary

After her re-election, Thatcher appointed Howe Foreign Minister. During an evening in 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister ranted about the Commonwealth while cooking kedgeree for Howe and others. He agreed with amusement and then informed her about the Queen's request for a private audience on board the royal yacht for what the palace was calling "a frank conversation about the way forward in South Africa". The Prime Minister finished the meal for the "boys" and they sat down to eat.

During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), he was part of the UK's delegation. He sat behind the Prime Minister. He and the other participants applauded after the Queen gave a speech. He was present from the start when the Prime Minister tested everyone else's patience in her repeated refusal to agree to a word for a statement condemning the South African government for their apartheid policy. After she agreed to the word "signals" instead of "sanctions", Howe congratulated her on their way to a press conference for "a victory for common sense". After she asked for clarification, Howe expressed his good feeling that the other heads of government would appreciate her "willingness to seek a compromise". Thatcher stopped walking and looked at Geoffrey while expressing her point of view: that there was "a reason the top job" had "always eluded" him, namely "the absence of the killer instinct". Howe was left speechless. Her point was made clear during the press conference Howe watched from the back: 48 people moved to the one more than one person moved to the 48, because "with one simple turn, a signal can soon point in an entirely different direction".

### Resignation

Years of resentment and frustration, combined with deep differences between Howe and Thatcher, eventually concluded in his resignation from the government.

One morning, Howe woke up, grunting softly, when birds were chirping. While the radio delivered him the morning news, with his upcoming speech in the House of Commons regarding his resignation, i.a. as Deputy Prime Minister, from the cabinet twelve days before being a major topic, he put on his glasses, petted his dog and went to the window in slippers. He thanked his wife, Elspeth Howe, for bringing his milk. Later on, he tied his shoes, grabbed his papers, and kissed his wife in front of the mirror. The radio announcer speculated if there was something Sir Geoffrey could say the afternoon "that could influence Mr. Heseltine on whether to throw his head in the ring". They knew Howe as "an extremely cautious man" and suspected a "carefully written" text, with the question being "whether it will be sufficiently in code not really to damage the Prime Minister". Though, they had "to wait and see" for the way the "deep personal and ideological differences with the Prime Minister" were expressed and spelled out. Howe entered the Commons and took a seat on a back bench. The speaker reminded the House a resignation statement was "heard in silence and without interruption", calling on Geoffrey to speak:

As reported afterwards in television, Howe also added "her nightmare image of Europe risks the future of the nation". With his speech, criticizing the Prime Minister, her style of government and her attitude to Europe, he shook the Conservative Party. The media came to the apparent only interpretation for the "peroration": a clear invitation to open a contest for the leadership. Some had gone further than that, suggesting Howe urged people to vote against Mrs. Thatcher. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh compared the situation with the "Ides of March", referring to the fall of Julius Caesar – or "Julia Caesar", in this case.

MPs now had to consider how to deal with Howe's indictment. Among the reactions were expressions such as "mutiny" or "an act of treachery". However, Michael Heseltine took the opportinity challenging Thatcher, and she wasn't able to win it within the first ballot. This caused her much damage and eventually forced her to resign.