Page "Reginald Maudling" Paragraph 3

He wrote an essay on Conservative policy in November 1943, recommending that the Conservatives neither imitate the Labour Party nor reflexly oppose all controls ; in the general election of July 1945, he was selected as parliamentary candidate for Heston and Isleworth, a newly created constituency in the county of Middlesex, although there were four applicants and he had no ties to that constituency.

In the subsequent Labour landslide Maudling was defeated like many others, although Heston and Isleworth had been expected to be a safe Conservative seat.

After their defeat in the 1945 general election, the Conservative Party engaged in an extensive rethink of its policy.

Maudling argued that the Party had depended excessively on the popularity of Winston Churchill and outdated economic slogans.

In November 1945 he became the first staff member of the Conservative Parliamentary Secretariat, later the Conservative Research Department, where he was head of the Economic Section.

He persuaded the party to accept much of the Labour government's nationalisation programme and social services while cutting government spending.

In March 1946, Maudling was chosen as the prospective candidate for Barnet, close to his birthplace in Finchley, and began giving speeches there.

Labour had unexpectedly won the seat in 1945, but it was considered to be marginal.

In 1950 he was elected as Member of Parliament with an absolute majority.