Margaret Thatcher’s 1975 Tory leadership nomination paper found in forgotten box

The nomination paper signed by Margaret Thatcher that led to her becoming leader of the Conservative Party is among a cache of historic material recently discovered in a cardboard box.

It belonged to Tory grandee Sir Edward du Cann who was chairman of the party’s influential 1922 Committee during the leadership race in 1975.

Also among the cache is the historic document that changed the course of British history, confirming Mrs Thatcher as party leader.

It is simply headed “Election of a leader of the Conservative Party” and is dated February 11 1975.

It carries the signatures of the scrutineers and that of Mrs Thatcher. She won in the second round of voting with 146 votes, with William Whitelaw second on 79 votes.

The nomination of Mrs Thatcher, then aged 49, was proposed by Keith Joseph and seconded by Airey Neave, who was later murdered by the IRA.

Mrs Thatcher wrote underneath “I consent to be nominated” and she signed it “Margaret H Thatcher” on January 27 1975.

This piece of House of Commons notepaper is of significant historic importance but there are other treasures.

One is a letter to Sir Edward the month before Mrs Thatcher agreed to be nominated, encouraging him to stand, but he declined.

“For some time it has been increasingly obvious to a number of us that you have the qualities which are required in a new Leader: your warmth, your ability to present our case forcefully and sympathetically, your skill as Chairman, and, above all, the affection in which you are held by your colleagues, make it essential, as we see it, that you should offer yourself for the Leadership of our Party. Indeed, we consider it is your duty to do so,” the letter stated.

The documents, found recently, are to be offered for sale at Duke’s of Dorchester on January 29 next year.

Guy Schwinge, of art consultants Hanover Forbes, said: “This cache of papers is of great historical importance. Margaret Thatcher was a trailblazer in every sense.

“Her philosophy – Thatcherism – changed the UK forever and the great personal  ‘chemistry’ she enjoyed with Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev contributed to the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

“Interest in the papers is expected from collectors and institutions in the UK and globally.

“It is 100 years since her birth and 50 since she became leader of the Conservative Party.

“The cache contains the signed nominations of all candidates in both ballots for the party leadership.

“The files and documents were discovered in a garage in Somerset.”

Sir Edward, who died in 2017, was an MP from 1956 to 1987, served as party chairman from 1965 to 1967 and chaired the 1922 Committee from 1972 to 1984.

Auction watchers expect the archive could significantly outstrip the pre-sale auction estimate of £100,000.