As Mrs Thatcher stood to give her speech at the 1980 Conservative party conference at Brighton, she was under considerable pressure. The government had slumped in the polls since their decisive election victory barely a year before – imagine that! – while unemployment and inflation remained high. So when left-wing activists interrupted her with cries of ‘Tories out!’, she could have been forgiven for getting flustered. But of course, she did not. She took it in her stride. ‘Never mind, it is wet outside’, she remarked, without missing a beat, as the intruders were removed, and then came the famous line: ‘I expect that they wanted to come in. You cannot blame them; it is always better where the Tories are.’ It’s not the greatest ad lib of all time, but it certainly shows a certain sangfroid and self-possession.

The quick-wittedness and self-confidence required to deal with heckles, interruptions and insults has been part of the successful politician’s toolkit for a very long time

The quick-wittedness and self-confidence required to deal with heckles, interruptions and insults has been part of the successful politician’s toolkit for a very long time

The quick-wittedness and self-confidence required to deal with heckles, interruptions and insults has been part of the successful politician’s toolkit for a very long time. In February 1974, at a fiery public meeting just days before the general election, Enoch Powell was accused of being a Judas, following his recommendation that people should vote Labour to ensure withdrawal from the EEC. ‘Judas was paid!’ was the instant riposte, delivered with characteristic intensity. During the 1966 campaign, a young man threw a sheaf of papers at Harold Wilson, earning a mordant rebuke: ‘I’m afraid your aim is no better than your material, my friend’. Much further back, the 18th-century Radical John Wilkes is said to have been challenged by an opponent who said he’d sooner vote for the........

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