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The Rt. Hon. Reginald Maudling ( March 7, 1917 - February 14, 1979) was a British politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer at the end of the Conservative Governments of the 1960s. Maudling might have become Prime Minister but for his defeat for the party leadership by Edward Heath. His subsequent later political career was overshadowed by scandal and political lampooning in the media, especially by Monty Python.1 Youth
Reginald Maudling was born in North Finchley and named after his father, Reginald George Maudling. His early years were spent in Bexhill when the family moved to escape German air raids; he won a scholarship to attend the Merchant Taylors School and Merton College, OxfordMerton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The squat, square tower of its chapel is one of the city's landmarks. Mob Quad, built in the 13th century, is the oldest quadrangle (or court) of any Oxfo. At Oxford, Maudling stayed out of undergraduate politics and concentrated on developing a personal philosophyPhilosophy literally means 'love of wisdom' from the Greek 'philo' and 'sofia'. It is now widely used to designate the pursuit of knowledge or wisdom about fundamental matters concerning life, death, meaning, reality, being and truth. The term may also re of pragmatismPragmatism is a school of philosophy originating in United States in the late 1800s. Pragmatism is characterized by the insistence on consequences, utility and practicality as vital components of truth. Pragmatism objects to the view that human concepts a and opposition to ideology. He worked hard, and obtained his degree in ClassicsClassics particularly within the Western University tradition, when used as a singular noun, means the study of the language, literature, history, art, and other aspects of Greek and Roman culture during the time frame known as classical antiquity. As a p with first class honours.
He then read for the BarA bar association is a body of lawyers who, in some jurisdictions, are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession. In the law, the bar is also known as the community of persons engaged in the practice of law ("members of the bar"). In the Unit and was called ( Middle TempleThe Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court around the Royal Courts of Justice in London, England. The others are Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. It is an independent enclave physically within the City of London, but not governed by the) in 1940Events January-February January 5 FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time. January 6 World War II: Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the Poznan, Warthegau. January 12 World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland. February 2 F. He did not practice as a barrister due to World War II, having volunteered for service in the Royal Air Force. Poor eyesight led him to the RAF intelligence branch where he rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant before switching to become Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair. It was his experience helping Sinclair that led Maudling to become active in politics.
2 Early political career
Maudling was by nature conservative, and therefore joined the Conservative Party. As the war came to an end, he was adopted as parliamentary candidate for Heston and Isleworth, a newly created constituency in West London. In the subsequent Labour landslide election of 1945, Maudling was one of many Conservative candidates who failed to win seats thought to have been safe. However his defeat did not deter him from a career in politics.
After their defeat in the 1945 general election, the Conservative Party engaged in an extensive rethink of its policy. Maudling, unemployed after giving up his civil service post, was recruited to play an important role as Head of Economics at the Conservative Research Department. He also acted as a personal adviser to Winston Churchill on economic issues. He persuaded the party to accept many of the Labour government's nationalisation programme and social services while cutting government spending. The following year 1946 Maudling was adopted as the prospective candidate for Barnet, close to his birthplace in north London. 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 a majority of 10,534.
