This artificial and all-encompassing section covers the various post-War attempts to bring all areas of the Party organisation together into one forum for the purpose of policy-making, tactical and/or strategic matters, or simply to ensure that Party policy was presented consistently across all fronts.
Because the composition of these committees extended across the whole spectrum of Party activity, records of their deliberations have survived amongst the records of different sections of the Party, and have correspondingly been catalogued with the other records of those sections. To add to the confusion, these committees were often re-named several times during the course of their existence. This page is intended to guide readers as to what has survived by bringing it together in one place, and linking to the relevant catalogue, where appropriate. The following committees are dealt with below (NB, covering dates given relate to the span of records held, rather than dates of existence):ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON POLICY [1946-1981]:
The Advisory Committee on Policy (ACP) lay at the heart of the Conservative Party
until it was wound up on the instructions of Mrs Thatcher after the 1987 general
election. It developed from the work of the Post-War Problems Central Committee
(PWPCC), which was set up by the National Union’s Executive Committee on 14th May
1941, under the chairmanship of R A Butler. It was re-named the Advisory Committee
on Policy and Political Education by the National Union’s Central Council in
November 1945, shortened to Advisory Committee on Policy from 1949. From the end of
the War until the mid-1970s it was the central forum for considering policy, and its
deliberations provided an important and revealing insight into the inner workings of
Conservative Politics.
Butler was one of the most important figures in the post-war revival and the governments of 1951-1964. He remained its chairman until 1965, and under his patronage and influence the ACP became the Party's clearing house for ideas and policies. The Committee comprised representatives from the different sections of the party (backbench MPs, peers, National Union, Party Chairman, Conservative Research Department (CRD) and Conservative Political Centre (CPC) directors and others) and existed to advise the leader on policy matters. It commonly delegated the detailed consideration of particular issues to a number of policy groups which, like the main committee, were serviced by the Research Department.
It proved to be a useful sounding board against which policy ideas could be tested before publication. As John Ramsden put it, 'At the very least, the existence of the ACP in this form ensured that representatives of the National Union, of the Young Conservatives, the Conservative Trades Unionists and Conservative women would all feel that they were involved in the making of policy; and its most negative, this made it unlikely that policies would be disowned by any of these sections of the Party after adoption. The ACP was precisely what its name implied, an advisory committee (and hence not to be compared with its nearest equivalents in the Labour Party, the policy sub-committees of the National Executive); it did not claim to take away from the leadership the right to "make" policy, but it guaranteed that policy would not be made without its broad lines being discussed with the Party in advance' (J. Ramsden, The Making of Conservative Party Policy: The Conservative Research Department since 1929, p. 132).
Records held: Minutes and papers, 1946-1981 [See series ACP]TACTICAL COMMITTEE [1947-Sep 1951]
The Tactical Committee (alternatively known as the Tactical Staff Committee) was a Central Office committee set up in c.1945 composed partly of ministers/shadow ministers and partly of professional party staff, and was responsible for the party's daily tactical response to the political battle.
It was originally formed by and was chaired by, E.D.[Toby] O'Brien, Director of Information Services at Conservative Central Office, in order to ensure that day to day propaganda points arising in the newspapers and elsewhere were not overlooked., and to deal with such matters in a practical or low level rather than on a strategic or high level way. From its inception it included MPs and members of the Conservative Research Department, and was soon expanded to include other members of Central Office staff, the Whip's Office and Peers. O'Brien's office became a 'Tactical HQ' for meetings held daily on Tuesdays-Fridays each week: 'It would be a task of this committee to consider the tactical implications of events that have occurred and plan ahead to make the best propaganda use of those which are to take place. A short note on the proceedings should be sent to the Chairman and to the Leader and once the Chairman has approved the decisions, a confidential note would be sent to each department or individual whom it affected.' [Shelfmark: CCO 600/17/1, 14th March 1947].
The Party publication, 'Weekend Talking Point' emerged from July 1947 as a single propaganda topic with a brief indication of the suggested line of approach to be taken, to be selected each week by the Tactical Committee and forwarded to MPs and Candidates to provide maximum impact throughout the country each weekend.
The Tactical Committee appears to have fallen into abeyance just before the 1951 General Election, as no records of its meetings survive beyond Sep 1951; presumably its functions were taken on by another committee which operated for the duration of the campaign only.
In July 1970, the Policy Initiatives & Methods Committee (for which, see below) changed its name to the Tactical Committee.
Records held: Tactical Staff Committee minutes and papers, 1947-1951 [See series CCO 600/17]LIAISON COMMITTEE [Dec 1951-1964; June 1970-1973]
Following the 1951 general election, the Party Chairman Lord Woolton established the Liaison Committee, in terms set out in a letter dated 13th December 1951: 'For the last five years I have had at the Central Office what was called the Tactical Committee, which has met about twice a week with representatives of both Houses of Parliament, and has done much to guide the major content of week-end speeches both of Members of Parliament and of candidates. I have revived the Committee, giving them the following terms of reference: To give guidance to Members of Parliament, candidates and others on the interpretation of Government policy and to take such action as, in their opinion, is necessary to sustain public confidence in the Conservative administration.' [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/7/1].
Lord Swinton chaired this new committee, as he had chaired a similar committee during the 1951 election campaign [which committee this was is not clear]. The name 'Liaison Committee' was chosen because it described the linking function of the committee, representing a line of communication between Conservative Central Office, the Conservative Research Department and the Government. It had nothing to do with policy formulation, only the effective interpretation of Conservative policy, and its deliberations were intended to be secret.
Part of its remit was to ensure that 'each separate measure which the Government takes is seen by the country as an integral part of a coherent general plan and not just as one of a series of ad hoc expedients' and one of its main propaganda tools was the existing 'Weekend Talking Points' publication [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/7/1]. Its composition was very similar to that of the Tactical Committee, involving representatives from all areas of the Party organisation and parliamentary party, and in practice it continued to fulfil the same functions as its predecessor, simply adapted to being in Government.
Following Labour's election victory in October 1964, the Liaison Committee met once more then ceased to meet throughout the period of Opposition between 1964 and 1970. However, in July 1966, the Party Chairman instituted a new weekly meeting (the Chairman's Committee, for which, see below) the aim of which was to 'deal with current problems in general and effect liaison between the various elements of the Party' and it was to be 'a committee akin to the Liaison Committee which we had during our thirteen years in power'. David Dear of the Research Department, the Liaison Committee's former Secretary, would act as its Secretary. It would consist of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chief Whips of the Commons and Lords, Vice-Chairmen of the Party, Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Chairman of the Party in Scotland, Treasurers, Director of the CPC, Director of the Organisation Department, Director of the Publicity Department and the Director of the Research Department. [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/62/1].
In June 1970, the Liaison Committee was revived by William Whitelaw, then Leader of the House of Commons: 'At the Prime Minister's request, I am setting up a Liaison Committee similar to that which was set up in 1951 and which existed for the whole of our period in Office from 1951-64. The Committee will have the following terms of reference: 'To give guidance to Members of Parliament, candidates and others on the interpretation of Government policy and to take such action as, in their opinion, is necessary to sustain public confidence in the Conservative administration.' This committee was to be chaired by William Whitelaw, with Employment & Productivity Minister, Paul Bryan as deputy. It included Sir Michael Fraser, Deputy Party Chairman and Brendon Sewell, Director of CRD. It met weekly, usually on Tuesday.
Records held:POLICY INITIATIVES & METHODS COMMITTEE [Feb 1966-Sep 1974]
From at least February 1966 a Policy Initiatives and Methods Committee operated under the chairmanship of Sir Michael Fraser, Deputy Party Chairman. In August 1966 the Party Chairman instituted a new series of weekly meetings - the Chairman's Committee (from 1975, the Management Committee) - representing all areas of the Party as the now defunct Liaison Committee had done (for which, see above). The role of the Policy Initiatives & Methods Committee was clarified as being 'to cover preliminary discussion on the Talking Points and the Weekly News' [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/62/1]. Memoranda containing summaries of the meetings of the Policy Initiatives & Methods Committee were often submitted to the Chairman's Committee. From July 1970 it was known as the Tactical Committee, with a revised membership and terms of reference - some of its former functions presumably being taken over by the revived Liaison Committee following the Conservatives' return to power. It usually met weekly, on Tuesdays, except during general election campaigns when it met daily (and was called the Tactical Group).
Its remit went beyond the daily tactical response to the political battle and regular items on its agenda were party conference arrangements and themes, by-elections, party political broadcasts, other publicity such as TV coverage and Weekend Talking Points.
Records held:PARTY STRATEGY GROUP [May-Sep 1974]
This first meeting of this Group (soon referred to as the Party Strategy Committee) was held on 20th May, 1974, chaired by Michael Wolff, the newly-created Director General of Conservative Central Office appointed by Heath. It was intended to be the first of a regular series of meetings designed to discuss strategy rather than tactics, and consisted of Sir Michael Fraser, Mrs Charles Morrison, Anthony Grant MP, David Knox MP, Sir Richard Webster, Don Harker, James Douglas, Chris Patten, and William Waldergrave.
Few papers survive of this Group, and as Wolff was dismissed by Thatcher upon assuming the Party leadership in 1975 and the post of Director General abolished, it is assumed that it was short-lived.
Records held: Minutes and papers, May-July 1974 [See series CCO 20/68/2]STRATEGY & TACTICS COMMITTEE [c1978-1987]
This committee was presumably the successor to the Tactical Committee, above, but no records survive for the period October 1974-1978, and 1982-1985. In 1980, it changed its name to the Strategy Committee, and from 1986 it was known as the Strategy Group.
CHAIRMAN'S COMMITTEE [1966-1979]
A letter dated 7th January, 1948 from Harold Macmillan, MP, then a junior minister, to Lord Woolton, Party Chairman, recommended the creation of a Management Committee to take over responsibility for policy making from the Shadow Cabinet, but nothing seems to have been done in response [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/1/3].
The Management Committee as it ultimately existed had its roots in the Liaison Committee which was set up in 1951 to ensure a seamless presentation of Party policy across the whole Party organisation, and which had ceased to exist in October 1964 once the Party went into Opposition (for which, see above).
In July 1966, the Party Chairman Edward du Cann instituted the Chairman's Committee - a large, formal, weekly meeting within Central Office, to be held on Wednesday mornings, with a circulated agenda and minutes. The aim was for it to 'deal with current problems in general and effect liaison between the various elements of the Party' and it was to be 'a committee akin to the Liaison Committee which we had during our thirteen years in power'. David Dear of the Research Department, the Liaison Committee's former Secretary, would act as its Secretary. The Chairman's Committee is not to be confused with the 'Chairman's Committee' set up by Iain Macleod as Party Chairman in November 1961, which was the re-named Policy Study Group, and was set up as previously, for the express purpose of drafting the Party's manifesto for the anticipated election campaign only.
It would consist of the Party Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chief Whips of the Commons and Lords, Vice-Chairmen of the Party, Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Chairman of the Party in Scotland, Treasurers, Director of the CPC, Director of the Organisation Department, Director of the Publicity Department and the Director of the Research Department [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/62/1]. Under Lord Thorneycroft, Party Chairman from 1975, this committee appears to have been re-constituted as the Management Committee, with a slightly slimmed down composition. Unfortunately, minutes of the first three meetings of the Management Committee do not survive.
Records held:DIRECTORS' COMMITTEE [1976-1981]
This was the Party Chairman's weekly meetings of the various department heads within Central Office, which took place in his office. 'The function of the Directors Meetings was to co-ordinate effort, pool information and monitor progress.' [Source: shelfmark CCO 20/62/2].
POLICY STUDY GROUP [1953-1955; 1957-1959; 1961-1963; 1967-1974]
This has existed under several names, but was a gathering of MPs and professionals from the Conservative Research Department and Conservative Central Office, mainly brought together for the purposes of assembling and drafting a manifesto but advising on other matters too. Its secretary usually came from the Research Department.
It was constituted for the first time as the Research Study Group in 1953 to prepare for the 1955 General Election, and again from 1957 as the Policy Study Group in preparation for the 1959 General Election, chaired both times by Iain Macleod. As Party Chairman in November 1961 he revived it again:
'The Policy Study Group which does the work of the preparation of the manifesto and sometimes concerns itself with other policy matters has previously been set up about two years after the beginning of a new Parliament. The timing therefore would seem to be right for it to begin to function once more. On both previous occasions I have been Chairman of the Group, and the Prime Minister wishes me to undertake this task again. I propose this time to rename the Policy Study Group the Chairman's Committee.' [CRD 2/52/7: Letter from Iain Macleod, 02/11/1961]. NB, this should not be confused with the Chairman's Committee referred to above, which was set up in 1966 for a completely unconnected purpose.
On previous occasions the Committee had been composed almost entirely of ministers; in 1961 it was decided to expand the group to include more MPs, and also people outside Parliament, including Conservative Central Office and the Conservative Research Department.
In November 1967 it was re-established as the Official Group, to prepare for the 1970 General Election. This time it remained constituted until August 1974.
Records held:Last updated: 07 March 2012, Jeremy McIlwaine