Michael Heseltine

Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001. He was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and served as Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State under Major. Heseltine entered the Cabinet in 1979 as Secretary of State for the Environment, where he promoted the "Right to Buy" campaign that allowed people to purchase their council houses. He was considered an adept media performer and a charismatic minister, although he was frequently at odds with Thatcher on economic issues. He was one of the most visible "wets", whose "One Nation" views were epitomised by his support for the regeneration of Liverpool in the early 1980s when it was facing economic collapse; this later earned him the award of Freeman of the City of Liverpool in 2012. As Secretary of State for Defence from 1983 to 1986, he was instrumental in the political battle against the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He resigned from the Cabinet in 1986 over the Westland affair and returned to the backbenches. Heseltine became a vocal critic of Thatcher, mostly because of her Eurosceptic views and confrontational approach in Parliament. Following Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech in November 1990, Heseltine challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party, polling well enough to deny her an outright victory on the first ballot. Following Thatcher's subsequent resignation, Heseltine lost to John Major on the second ballot, but returned to the Cabinet in his former post Environment Secretary when Major became Prime Minister. As a key ally of Major, Heseltine was appointed President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry following the 1992 general election. He supported Major when his leadership was challenged in 1995, and was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State in return for his support. He declined to seek the leadership of the party following Major's 1997 election defeat, and served in Major's shadow cabinet as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry while the leadership election to succeed him was taking place.