MARTIN HOLMES

'...important and strongly recommended, neatly packaged and eminently readable, and written with a clarity and authority that one can but envy.' - Cyril Townsend, House Magazine '...refreshing for a political writer to treat economic policy seriously rather than as a form of black magic which affects the parties' standing in the polls.' - Samuel Brittan, Financial Times '...interesting, detailed and often stimulating contribution to the acromonious debate about the nature of true Conservatism.' - Andrew Gamble, Political Studies '...revisionist, readable study seeks to show the full extent of the political, economic and electoral misjudgements of Heath's government.' - Sunday Times

• Acknowledgements - The Failure of the Heath Government: Introduction to the Second Edition - PART 1: INTRODUCTION - Electoral Victory and the 'Quiet Revolution' - PART 2: POLITICAL PRESSURE AND ECONOMIC POLICY - The Industrial Relations Act: Its Origins, Operation and Consequences - The U-Turn over Industry Policy - The 'N minus 1' Experiment and the Reaction to Rising Unemployment - The 'Heath Dilemma' and the Drift to Incomes Policy - The Operation of Stages I and II - Stage III, the Miners' Strike and the February 1974 Election - PART 3: CONCLUSIONS - Policy Reversals and Prime Ministerial Power - Policy Reversals and Contemporary Conservatism - PART 4: APPENDICES - Chronology - Select Bibliography - Index