Lives in Cricket No 15 - Michael Falcon

had supported the coalition government, as he had been elected to do, even though it had sometimes made mistakes but its time was over. He dismissed Mr Seely’s manifesto as ‘specious’ and, whilst describing Mr Wright as an honourable man, he said that an MP should support all his constituents, not just a minority ( i.e. the farmers). From this and other comments, perhaps we should think of him as a ‘one-nation’ Tory, in the Disraeli tradition. At a meeting of the Eastern Provincial Division of the National Unionist Association, Captain Falcon seconded a plea that the government should reduce taxation in order to revive trade and promote employment. He called, in particular, for reductions in the duty on tea and beer, and in income tax. There was a pleasant surprise at the annual meeting of the East Norfolk Conservative Association in that a member of the NFU, Mr Werner Cook, broke ranks and said that he was doing his best to get Captain Falcon re-elected as he was true to his word in trying to do his best for all his constituents. In a response to criticism from the NFU party line, Captain Falcon declared he was as opposed to the ‘old-time crusty Toryism of the past’ as he was to the leftist extremists. He stated that the two great industries of East Anglia were agriculture and fishing and that he would do his utmost to encourage both: a theme he would return again and again during his campaign. Soon after this speech it was announced that he was giving up his legal practice in order to concentrate on his parliamentary duties. There was then a major surprise in the campaigning when Mr Wright withdrew his candidacy, to be replaced by a Labour candidate, Mr George Hewitt. Mr Wright said he was withdrawing in order to avoid taking votes from Captain Falcon, whom he would now prefer to be elected. At this point Falcon had not yet been formally adopted as the Conservative candidate, but the formalities were soon dealt with. At a meeting of the East Norfolk Conservatives, chairman John Cator stated that the constituency were fortunate in having Captain Falcon as their MP. He was, at the last election, ‘a Unionist holding Conservative views … he remained a Conservative and he would fight as a Conservative. He had had his problems with agriculture, having had to refuse to adopt the programme of the NFU because he had to represent the interests of all his constituents. He would co-operate with the Liberals against Labour.’ Captain Falcon was unanimously elected candidate and expressed his determination to win the seat. In his 48 At Westminster