Trust the People, a speech by the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill, Ayr, May 16th, 1947
London: Conservative and Unionist Central Office, 1947. First edition, only printing. Paperback. This is the first edition, only printing of Winston S. Churchill's speech of 16 May 1947 to the Unionist Associations of Scotland given in the city of Ayr. The 16-page, wire stitched paper pamphlet measures 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches (21.6 x 14 cm) and is printed in dark blue.
Here is a near-fine, crisp and clean example of this fragile pamphlet. The covers are clean and bright with sharp corners. The binding staples are tight and clean, showing no rust. The contents are likewise clean and bright, with no spotting, soiling, or previous ownership marks. The cheap paper of this leaflet has barely age-toned, giving us the impression that this example may have long been protected, perhaps between the pages of a book. The pamphlet is protected in a clear, removable, archival sleeve.
"...the maxim 'Trust the people'...has guided the Conservative Party ever since the days of Lord Beaconsfield and later of Lord Randolph Churchill." The speech is a scathing indictment of the Socialist government on both foreign and domestic fronts: "There is no part of the world in which our affairs have not been mismanaged and in which our influence and prestige have not painfully declined... I invite the British nation to ask themselves: Why are we worse off now, in so many ways, than we were in the toughest days of the war?"
Two years earlier, Churchill's Conservatives had been soundly defeated in the General Election at the end of the war. Churchill would head opposition to the Labour Government until the General Election of 1951, which returned the Conservatives to majority and Churchill to the office of Prime Minister for his second and final premiership.
This is the only stand-alone publication of this speech, which was later reprinted in Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, Volume VII, p.7489 under the title "Trust the People". Reference: Cohen A234, Woods A119. Item #006732
Price: $250.00