The Lord Privy Seal (Viscount Cranborne)My Lords, the whole House will have been saddened by the news last week of the death of my noble friend Lord Home of the Hirsel. I can think of no one who was held in greater respect or affection by this House, by his party or by this nation at large. And your Lordships, who were so often privileged to hear him speak, will wish to remember today his distinguished career, his charm, his wit and his service to this place.
Your Lordships will already be familiar enough with the outlines of my noble friend's political life. I therefore do not need to rehearse them in detail this afternoon. However, the length of his political experience, particularly of foreign affairs, has been equalled by few modern statesmen; and for me it is something of a shock to realise that we are today paying tribute to a man who was already at the centre of affairs by the time Hitler rose to power. Thus, when he came to occupy the great offices of Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, his natural courage and judgment were nourished by a length of perspective which is perhaps often the victim of the parliamentary hurly-burly of today.
His achievements at the Scottish Office and the Commonwealth Relations Office have been justly and widely recognised. As Foreign Secretary he inspired trust, affection and respect in equal measure. However, I suspect his achievements as Prime Minister and party leader have not received the notice they deserve. After all, he inherited—I make no comment about this—a demoralised and divided party, some of whose leading lights refused to serve under him, and he faced a young and formidable Leader of the Opposition who, encouraged by the howls of derision Lord Home attracted from much of the press, must have thought him easy prey. Yet after only a year he lost the election by a mere four seats. His diffident manner was deceptive. Here, indeed, was a tough and tenacious politician, qualities after all which had always distinguished his Border ancestors. It was that toughness, as well as his natural lack of rancour, that enabled him to continue in politics and to return in due course to the Foreign Office where the same quality enabled him famously to expel 105 Soviet spies from London.
I have said that my noble friend was tough. His grasp of essentials was also rapid and striking to those who witnessed it. His kindness in accepting invitations to address small audiences was legendary and I was one of 566 those fortunate in being a beneficiary of that kindness in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Arriving with a couple of minutes to spare he would ask, "Now what do you want me to say?". I tried as best I could to explain the situation as I saw it and confess to wondering whether he was even listening to my briefing. I need not have worried. His speech two minutes later showed not only that he had listened to every word but that he had understood implications of events that his briefer had not yet begun to spot.
I was fortunate to know Lord Home a little and to have been the lucky recipient of his kindness and hospitality. Anyone who saw him on his native heath would realise that Lanarkshire and the Border country were as much a part of him as his rod and his gun. He belonged there and covered their accidented ground with effortless speed. However, I venture to suggest that he also belonged in your Lordships' House. Indeed, he was the last Prime Minister to hold that office while a Member of this place—albeit for only four days. It is for this reason that his bust stands in the Norman Porch. His unassuming courtesy, his experience, his judgment, and his wit—above all he was a very funny man—perhaps made him seem peculiarly at home in this place and I venture to suggest that we are grateful for the lustre he added to our proceedings.
I cannot finish without sending our best wishes and sympathy to his family. This, of course, is a conventional courtesy on occasions of this kind and a very proper one. However, in my noble friend's case, the extraordinary happiness of his marriage and the affection in which he was so obviously held by his many relations make that convention particularly important to observe today. Lady Home's death must have been a terrible blow to him but it was one that he faced with his customary courage and indeed his customary modesty, and with the love and support of his children.
I am sure that the whole House will recognise that he was a remarkable man and a great servant of the state. He was also, which is rarer, a man who was much loved.
§ Lord RichardMy Lords, we on these Benches are happy to join with the Leader of the House in the sentiments he has expressed. Lord Home was for over 60 years a dedicated public servant of whom the party opposite and the country as a whole should be justly proud.
Born into a noble and ancient Border family, he determined to devote his life to politics. Educated at Eton, where he was no mean cricketer, and Christ Church, where he just failed to get a Blue, he could have spent his time in much more aristocratic pursuits. That he did not was very firmly his own decision. His father believed strongly—to use Lord Home's own words—that,
it was a duty for one born with the means to be independent to undertake public service"—but not, apparently, he tells us, in politics, for he wrote of that part of his life:My father strongly advised me against politics as a career. He also told me that no Home could drink champagne. Otherwise a dutiful son, on both these points I disagreed and proved my point".567 First elected to Parliament in 1931, his career spanned some of the more turbulent years of this century. I myself always felt that it was indicative of his nature and character that, having been Prime Minister, nevertheless he found it possible to serve as Foreign Secretary in the government of his successor as party leader.Reading the obituaries of Lord Home, the two words which recur again and again are "decency" and "integrity". While we on this side of the House did not and indeed could not be expected to agree with all his views, there is no doubt that he held those views sincerely and advocated them honourably. Together with the late Lord Stockton and others, some of whom are still in your Lordships' House, Lord Home was one of those who put their distinctive stamp upon the Conservative Party at least until 1979. As the Guardian wrote of him:
He was the embodiment of a moderate British Conservative tradition".It is that very moderation and decency for which we will remember him. He was invariably courteous and considerate, and party confrontation was hardly his style. Indeed, he became Prime Minister in 1963 precisely because of those qualities, which perhaps meant that he disunited the party less than any of his competitors. They were qualities that he displayed throughout his career.The intensity and depth of the political battle today might have surprised and perhaps upset him. I was reading his autobiography again over the weekend. I came across a few sentences which perhaps I may share with your Lordships today since they seem to me at any rate to encapsulate the nature of the man. He said that,
the Party Leaders should exercise restraint in the use of the power of the majority to a point where it is not necessary for an Opposition to pledge itself to undo what the government of the day has done. It is not an easy assignment but politics is a profession not for the bully with a bludgeon but for the artist with a baton".That seems to me to sum up his whole approach to politics and public administration. He may have been tough and shrewd—as the Leader of the House said—but honourable, decent and a man of integrity he clearly was too. For that, we mourn him.
§ Lord Jenkins of HillheadMy Lords, Alec Home, whose death we deeply regret, became Prime Minister almost accidentally, though, as is often the case with accidents, causing a few casualties in the process. He occupied the office briefly. If I try to think of a 19th century comparison it would be with his fellow Scottish Earl, the somewhat elusive Lord Aberdeen, who was also a long-serving Foreign Secretary. But Lord Aberdeen had a deeply melancholic private life, losing two wives and five children while young, whereas Alec Home, I hope and believe, had a full and happy old age—more so, perhaps, than any Prime Minister except perhaps Attlee and Macmillan.
Lord Home had an exceptionally long post-ministerial retirement, yet he was far from a shadow during those post-Downing Street years. He was Foreign Secretary for three-and-a-half of those years. He was a frequent attender in your Lordships' House until fairly recently.
568 I find it peculiarly easy to summon up a picture of that sparse figure and cranial yet benevolent head sitting somewhere between the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hailsham, and the noble Lord, Lord Boyd-Carpenter.
Lord Home never pushed himself forward. He had the most perfect good manners, based, as high good manners mostly are, on a dual foundation of self-confidence and self-effacement. He was not an emotional orator but he could make a speech with a faultless touch and a delicate wit which I have never seen rivalled. I suppose in some ways he was the final station of a railway line which may not survive the harsh commercialism of privatisation. He was the last, thus far, of Eton's 18 Prime Ministers and the last thus far of Christ Church's 13. But who knows, Fettes and St. John's College are thrusting in the wind. Whatever the future holds, we should cherish the memory of Alec Home, the more so perhaps for we may not, alas, see his like again.
§ Lord Greenhill of HarrowMy Lords, for many years the Cross-Bench Peers have included several Members who served under Lord Home. I am one of them, and I hope I may be permitted to recall some of our experiences and impressions of him. Strangely enough I have the clearest recollection of seeing, over 70 years ago, a picture of the Eton team in the Cricketer weekly magazine. Seated in the centre was Lord Dunglass wearing the captain's cap. I knew that our lives would never cross on the cricket field, but I did not imagine that I would ever work with that captain if he became Prime Minister or Foreign Secretary of our government at some distant date.
It is of the period 1970 to 1973 that I now briefly want to speak—when I knew him best and when I was his Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The calm and friendly atmosphere of his Whitehall office was unique. His desk was usually clear of official papers. Within easy reach of his right hand was a copy of Ruff's Guide to the Turf. Often there was a welcoming smile on his face as he came off the 'phone after advising his brother William where to place their money. If there was a morning meeting of officials he usually put the first question of the day to the most junior officer in the room, who rose visibly in stature. Many of those who saw Lord Home working in Whitehall know how encouraging he could be. There were no short tempers and no rebukes, even when justified. And those of us who were fortunate enough to travel with him abroad know what an inspiration he was and what an asset he could be to this country.
Lord Home's foreign opposite numbers, either friends or potential foes, clearly held him in great respect, often even affection, whether it be Gromyko, Cho En Lai in China or Ian Smith in Rhodesia, to say nothing of American, European or Commonwealth leaders. Those of us who were with him could not but be proud of him. I refer to two dramas in which he played a central role, one success and one setback. The first was the expulsion from this country of 105 Soviet intelligence agents, which has already been mentioned: the second was his attempt to solve the problem of Rhodesia.
569 The mass expulsion of Soviet agents was opposed by certain fellow Cabinet Members who claimed that we would he the laughing-stock of the world. They were fearful of the extent of Russian reaction. Lord Home stuck to his guns and in the event his action was fully justified. Other friendly countries followed suit. Marshal Tito expelled one Soviet agent who had worked in London. Lord Home sent the marshal a telegram of congratulation saying, "Well done. Keep them moving".
Lord Home's failure to settle the Rhodesian problem was a great disappointment to him. At one time he thought he was being obstructed by some of those who claimed to be his friends. But the sincerity of the Secretary of State could be questioned neither by people at home nor by the suspicious Africans when he accepted at once the negative conclusions of the Pearce Report which had been delayed by events beyond the control of any of the parties. It was a most important action for the Commonwealth and for our international relations worldwide.
Finally, Lord Home's stamina at home and on exhaustive tours was remarkable. When abroad it was characteristic that he did not hesitate to eat and enjoy the most exotic oriental food without the slightest damage while others fell by the wayside. Alec Home and his wife Elizabeth always acted as a team. From the angle of my life and my profession I can think of no political pair who have made a comparable contribution to the interests of this country.
On his 70th birthday we in the Foreign Office, with the assistance of Kew Gardens and Sir Anthony Acland, gave him 91 trees and plants to mark the variety of the countries he had visited on his official duties. They are now planted in the grounds of The Hirsel, his family home, for all to see in the years to come.
§ The Lord Bishop of NorwichMy Lords, many years ago I was privileged to spend an evening with Lord and Lady Home at the home of one of my parishioners. I wish now that I could recall more of the conversation but even after 25 years the impression upon a young rector remains vivid—a kind of wonder that this man of eminence should be such easy and delightful company. Before my hostess had a chance, he introduced himself as though he expected I would have no idea who he was. That simple and humble courtesy was of course characteristic. I remember regretting afterwards that I had not asked him more questions because, as those of your Lordships who knew him will remember, he was a generous listener who had the endearing gift of making one feel that what one said was interesting and important, even if it was not.
Much has been made by journalists of his privileged upbringing. But it was not that which marked the man; rather it was his total and unselfconscious dedication to the service of his fellow human beings. That sprang of course from long family tradition, but beneath was a profound faith in God which was transparent though never exhibited. Nor was his faith merely the inheritance of a Christian upbringing. He valued the habit of churchgoing and spoke more than once of the benefit of habit closely allied to duty, that much derided virtue. He made his own journey of faith, not evading hard questions but, through a combination of intellect and 570 intuition, reaching not final answers but certainly a faith by which to live. In the final chapter of his autobiography, after expressing gratitude to his family, and especially to his beloved wife, he says:
Finally I am glad that I was brought up in the Christian faith and provided with the hope of a God who is a Redeemer. I do not think I have been unduly influenced by the prospect, so to speak, of saving my own skin".He was, in matters of faith as in all things, modest, but he was also, in faith as in life, a man of total integrity.Among those who share his faith and who had the privilege of knowing, even slightly, Lord Home, none can doubt that passing from this life he earned that simplest and noblest of all accolades, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant".