My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

It is my privilege to pay tribute to a remarkable parliamentarian, Sir Edward Heath. Born Edward Richard George Heath in 1917, Sir Edward grew up in Broadstairs, the son of a carpenter. He attended a state grammar school in Ramsgate, Chatham House, and then went up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he won the college's organ scholarship in his first term.

Sir Edward showed his political independence early on in life. In 1938, he actively opposed the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany pursued by Neville Chamberlain. In the Oxford by-election, just after Chamberlain's deal with Hitler in Munich at the end of September, Sir Edward campaigned for A.D. Lindsay, the Master of Balliol, who stood as an anti-appeasement candidate against the official Conservative candidate and later Lord Chancellor, Quintin Hogg. Later that autumn, he was elected President of the Oxford Union.

Ted Heath, as he was to everyone, was of that generation of Prime Ministers who experienced active service. During World War II he served in the Royal Artillery. His pre-war and wartime experiences were important in shaping his views about Europe and the need to prevent future conflict.

After serving in the Army, Ted Heath worked in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He went on to become editor of the Church Times before going into merchant banking.before going into merchant banking.

In 1950, he entered Parliament, narrowly winning the seat of Bexley. He went on to hold the seat until his retirement in 2001. His maiden speech in the House of Commons concerned European unity, a theme to which he would return throughout his long career. In February 1951, he became an assistant Whip. After a succession of posts in the Whips' Office, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip under Anthony Eden in December 1955. He served in the role of Chief Whip between 1955 and 1959, and is widely credited with holding the Conservative Party together during the Suez crisis. He went on to be appointed Minister for Labour, later Lord Privy Seal, and then President of the Board of Trade. His competence and success in these roles helped his prospects for the leadership, which he won in 1965, aged 49. He was the first Conservative leader to be elected by his fellow MPs, defeating Reginald Maudling and Enoch Powell for the post. In 1970, he unexpectedly led his party to victory and held office as Prime Minister for just under four years.

Ted Heath was a man of enormous integrity. I will remember him particularly for three things: first, his firm stance against capital punishment; secondly, his commitment to one-nation politics, which was shown when he decided that Enoch Powell, after a speech in the West Midlands, could no longer continue on the Conservative Front Bench. It was a brave decision which I remember my parents applauding at the time. I shall remember him, thirdly, for his commitment to Europe, demonstrated in his winning French acceptance of British entry into the European Economic Community. He later played a leading role in the campaign to secure a "Yes" vote in the referendum on our membership.

In office, Ted Heath had to face the crisis of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, over which he imposed direct rule from Westminster in 1972. He was unable, however, to deal with Britain's mounting economic problems. Hoping to win a new mandate, he called a general election during the miners' strike in February 1974, and the Conservatives lost seats to Labour. Failing to form a coalition government, he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Harold Wilson in March. Defeated again in another general election in October, he was replaced as party leader by Margaret Thatcher in 1975.

Ted Heath remained active in Parliament, making interventions, particularly in support of the pro-European cause, and representing his constituents. He went on to become Father of the House before retiring from Parliament more than half a century after first entering. It is this House's loss that he did not become a Member here.

Outside politics, Sir Edward pursued his interests, sailing and music, with the same passion and dedication that he demonstrated in his parliamentary life. He was a keen sailor. Despite having taken up yachting relatively late in life, he won the Sydney to Hobart race in his yacht, "Morning Cloud", in 1969. Later, in 1971, as Prime Minister, he skippered Britain's Admiral's Cup-winning boat.

Sir Edward Heath is well known for taking his grand piano with him to No. 10 Downing Street—and I am told that he continued to conduct the annual Christmas concert of his home town choir in Broadstairs even when Prime Minister. In 1992, he was made a Member of the Order of the Garter.

Sir Edward Heath will be remembered with great respect. He was a man of integrity, who served both this country and Parliament with dignity and distinction. I beg to move.

Moved, That the House do now adjourn.—(Baroness Amos.))

My Lords, I rise to support the noble Baroness the Leader of the House in the Motion that she has put before us. Today we mourn the death of Sir Edward Heath, and it is a privilege to follow the noble Baroness in her just tribute.

We have lost another link with the 20th century, especially that link with the war years. Sir Edward Heath was the last Conservative leader to see active service in war; he served with distinction, being mentioned in dispatches in the closing stages of the Second World War, for which he was awarded the MBE (Military Division). As a result of his wartime experience, he vowed to do all that he could to avoid it ever happening again.

Elected to another place in 1950, he was appointed a Whip by Churchill the following year and was rapidly promoted to Deputy Chief Whip and, subsequently, Chief Whip. His powers of persuasion must have been unrivalled. In that role he rendered invaluable service to the country during the Suez crisis in keeping the government and his party together.

In 1960, Macmillan appointed Ted Heath as Lord Privy Seal, responsible for negotiating Britain's entry into the EEC. He led a superb negotiating team whose successful efforts foundered because of de Gaulle's surprise repudiation of Britain's application in 1963. Later on, he was Secretary of State for Trade, Industry and Development, and an early deregulator—not without controversy in the case of resale price maintenance. But it was on Sir Alec Douglas-Hume's resignation in 1965 that he achieved the leadership of the Conservative Party in the first election for the post, rather surprisingly defeating Reggie Maudling. He presided in opposition over a period of strenuous policy rethinking and so-called "preparation for government".

In 1970, Sir Edward became Prime Minister—an outcome that the polls at the start of the campaign had indicated was practically impossible. He inherited a challenging economic situation and struggled to find a way forward. His term of office was characterised by difficult challenges, two of which were especially crippling. The first was the tragic early death of Iain Macleod, his Chancellor of the Exchequer and one of the most brilliant members of his Cabinet. The second was the oil crisis of 1973, which sent huge inflationary shockwaves throughout the world economy. But it was his attempt to control the spiralling might of the trade unions which ultimately destroyed his government and set the tone for industrial relations and legislation over the next 15 years. It was a terrible time for the nation. However, on a small and personal note, as a schoolboy in the early 1970s I remember well that feeling of anticipation that the lights might go out so that there would be a perfect excuse not to have studied the conjugation of irregular Latin verbs. In 1974 he lost that crisis election in terms of seats in spite of a lead in the popular vote.

In good times and in bad he conducted himself with integrity, never more perhaps than when he was forced to suspend Stormont and transfer the government of Northern Ireland to Westminster. The Sunningdale agreement of 1973, short lived though it was, was a bold and imaginative precursor of the Belfast agreement more than 25 years later.

Sir Edward served as an MP for more than half a century and was a wise and well regarded Father of the House until his retirement in 2001. He took the decision not to join our Benches here—something I regret and we are surely all the poorer for that. However, his heart belonged utterly to another place. His life was dominated by service and in particular service to his constituents, fellow MPs and the nation. He was a man of the Commons.

There is no doubt that we have lost a political giant and the world of politics is today a duller place. Sir Edward Heath will largely be remembered as the man who led Britain into the European Economic Community—an achievement of which he was deservedly proud, and which at the time was very widely supported by those who were tired of Britain's failures and saw our European neighbours pulling far ahead. He was a man of great principle and these principles guided him in everything he did. He was an old school politician. Not for him the modern spin machine or the insincere charm offensive. He was brusque and honest. He did not curry favour with colleagues, often to his detriment, or with opponents. One always knew where one stood. After losing office he continued his international work and famously led a mission to Baghdad in 1990, which successfully secured the release of 33 hostages.

There is one further aspect of Ted Heath's life that is worth mentioning. One never felt that he really overcame his ousting as Prime Minister, and certainly was never entirely reconciled to those he felt were responsible. He rarely saw good in what followed him and refused to come to terms with the changing nature of the Conservative Party and, indeed, of Europe and the world at large. That must have been a sad weight to bear.

However, he also combined high office with great achievements in the world beyond politics. He had a real hinterland. His life-long passion for music, and skills at making it, led to his conducting orchestras all over the world. And he was a yachtsman of real distinction, winning the Sydney-Hobart race in 1969 and captaining Britain's victorious Admiral's Cup team in 1971. It seems incredible now that only 35 years ago a leader of the opposition and subsequently a Prime Minister could take so much time to take part in such events. There is perhaps a lesson for us all in that.

Ted Heath was a man who understood the word "duty" and all that it meant. He led by example in putting the interests of the nation first and foremost, a statesman in every sense of the word. People will argue for years about his political legacy, particularly that on Europe, but what is certain is that the nature of his commitment and contribution to our island's story will remain unchallenged.

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, is quite right. We seem to be living through a period almost like the end of an epic play where the characters we have grown accustomed to quietly take their leave of us—that generation of civilians who turned themselves into soldiers to defeat Nazism in Europe and whose victory more than 60 years ago we all celebrated very recently.

They returned with a mood of "never again" and a determination to win the peace that took them into public life in all parties. Recently I was supposed to address the European movement veterans group at a lecture that had been given last year by Sir Edward Heath. As part of my research for that I looked up his lecture. He talked very much of the life changing visit he made in 1939 with his friend Madron Serligman to Nazi Germany and other parts of Europe. Along with the war, that experience certainly shaped the rest of his political life.

The only other matter that I would mention from my research is that Mr Serligman was extremely irritated during that trip by Ted Heath's insistence on playing "Colonel Bogey" on a penny whistle at every opportunity. Considering that they were travelling through Germany at that time, it demonstrated a strain of recklessness that we do not usually associate with him.

I can also vouch for the surprise at his 1970 victory, as I was standing in Transport House when those first results came in.

What is interesting about his commitment to Europe, which has been mentioned, was that it was never simply based on an economic decision. This is not the time to re-run that debate, but a recent documentary on the BBC about the 1975 referendum campaign showed Ted Heath, in all his pomp and vigour, speaking at a rally in Trafalgar Square. His twin themes were peace and prosperity—the political aims of Europe to which he was consistent throughout his long life.

Coupled with that consistency was his considerable courage when he had to face other decisions—the decision to hold the Conservative Party to a strong line on Rhodesia at the time of UDI, when many Conservatives, including the influential Lord Salisbury, were trying to take the party in another direction; the sacking of Enoch Powell has already been referred to; and the third example of courage, of which my noble friend Lord Dholakia reminded me, was the decision to admit the Ugandan Asians. None of those were soft options for a party leader.

My own contacts with Ted Heath were spasmodic. I remember attending a small, select dinner party in the City, in the late 1980s, at which he was the star. He divided his contributions into two halves—an absolute condemnation of Thatcherism and all its works and a prediction that China was the coming country to which we should give our attention. I can assure noble Lords that he spoke about both with equal passion.

Also, rather bizarrely, he once invited me to speak at the Bexley Conservatives' supper club. I have never quite worked out whether he wanted to expose Bexley Conservatives to fresh ideas or to demonstrate to them the grim alternative.

I suspect that, like another ex-Prime Minister, of whom he often reminds me, Sir Robert Peel, history will be kinder and warmer to him than some of his contemporaries. Perhaps his country and his party might have used him better over the past 30 years. Nevertheless, what an achievement—he was a scholar, a soldier, a statesman, Father of the House and one of the great House of Commons men of this and any generation.

As the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, said, he had a massive hinterland. He was a musician of talent, an international yachtsman and a prolific and successful author. He almost pioneered the idea of book signings by politicians. I remember that Harold Wilson, rather enviously and sourly, told me that it was the unsigned copies of Ted's books which had rarity value.

In what he stood for and in what he fought for, he was a man for all seasons. We on these Benches pay tribute to a great European and a great Englishman who fully understood that the two were perfectly and, indeed, essentially compatible.

My Lords, it is a privilege, on behalf of the Lords Spiritual, to join in this tribute. Politicians face a very demanding vocation and vocation it certainly is. At a time like this, those of us on the sidelines, who reserve our right to make constant critical comments about politicians, should at least remember.

Among the most demanding aspects of that vocation is its capacity to squeeze out the joyful and abundant things of life. It is good that we should recall a politician who managed to avoid that. I wonder what public cares and anxieties were blown away by the wind, or gathered up in the profound experience of music. Both activities require total concentration and in the leaders—the skipper, the conductor—require the capacity to bring others to the same degree of concentration, something which must have delighted Sir Edward enormously.

We should be glad that we can remember a politician who did not allow his politics to squeeze life out of his life. We should pray and hope that politics may, once again, be an arena enriched by the possibility of politicians holding to life within their demanding calling. That would not just be good for them, but also good for our politics.

As to the conflicts that are credited with bringing about his loss of power, perhaps, in time, we might judge that those conflicts were coming over the horizon anyway and that they would have to be faced by whichever politician happened to be in power at the time. If we come to that conclusion, perhaps history will judge Sir Edward less harshly than it might at the moment.

Above all, as I have said, it is for his spiritual contribution to politics and for his refusal to allow it to squeeze life out of his life that I particularly wish to be grateful and for which I hope he will continue to be remembered. May he rest in peace and, with all the just, rise in glory.

My Lords, on behalf of the Cross-Bench Peers, I add my voice to the tributes paid to Sir Edward Heath. Principally, he will be remembered for his four years as Prime Minister—stirring years for the country—for brave decisions and for his long, long period as a parliamentarian. We also want to remember that he held office as Minister of Labour, Lord Privy Seal with Foreign Office responsibilities and as Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development.

Sometimes it may be forgotten that he was a politician who believed in a fairer distribution of wealth and opportunities among the population and I appreciate that. After all, he wrote a book entitled A Tory Approach to Social Problems, and as a Cross-Bench Peer I cannot comment on the content., and as a Cross-Bench Peer I cannot comment on the content.

As I spent my career in the public services of the United Kingdom and the European Union, I am particularly aware of his conviction that the future of Britain was profoundly bound up with the development of Europe and of his enthusiasm which drove forward the negotiations for UK membership of the European Community. I remember that very well, and I particularly remember his French accent. His belief in the European Community and in Britain's role within it remained with him throughout his life. I remember it most recently, when I met him, which was not long ago. He had not changed at all.

In this House we know there are divided views on the European Union, but United Kingdom membership is indeed Edward Heath's legacy. His career and interests outside politics have already been mentioned: an impressive and winning yachtsman and an outstanding conductor with a number of his orchestral works recorded and still available in the shops. He was chairman of the London Symphony Orchestra Trust; he was vice-president of the Bach Choir; he was president of the European Community Youth Orchestra; and had many other musical interests. The title of his book Music: A joy for life, certainly reflected the spirit of his musical life. He was always very happy with music and in Salisbury; where he reprimanded my wife on one occasion very loudly for referring to his house in the Cathedral guard whereas in fact it is in the Cathedral Close., certainly reflected the spirit of his musical life. He was always very happy with music and in Salisbury; where he reprimanded my wife on one occasion very loudly for referring to his house in the Cathedral guard whereas in fact it is in the Cathedral Close.

There are always differences of views in politics. It is at the heart of a vibrant nation, but Edward Heath's life reminds us how privileged we are to have men and women of his high integrity and quality as our leaders.

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House adjourned at sixteen minutes past three o'clock.