by 2:1 in the Cabinet, although Maudling had more support amongst backbench MPs. Macmillan's sudden illness and announcement of his resignation in October 1963 came at a time when Maudling's support had fallen. He was also poorly received at the Conservative Party conference, which had become a hustings for the leadership, despite coaching from Iain Macleod, in how to deliver his speech. Back in London the following week, a process of "consultation" by Lord Chancellor Dilhorne and by Redmayne declared Foreign Secretary Lord Home, rather than Maudling or Butler, to be the compromise candidate. Enoch Powell, Macleod, Hailsham and Maudling (known as "the Quad" in some accounts of the following days) sought to persuade Butler to refuse to serve under Home, so that Butler rather than Home would have to become Prime Minister. Macleod and Maudling demanded that Dilhorne lay the results of his consultations before the Cabinet but he refused. Maudling attended the meeting at Powell's house late in the evening of 17 October, "well-refreshed" after attending a formal dinner and seems to have "gone along with it" rather than being a ringleader, although he and Hailsham agreed to serve under Butler. On the morning of Saturday 19 October Butler then Maudling agreed to serve under Home, enabling him to accept office as Prime Minister. Maudling retained his post as Chancellor under the new Prime Minister and in the 1964 election, Maudling had a prominent role at the helm of the party's daily press conferences, while Douglas-Home toured the country. On the BBC's election results programme, the journalist Anthony Howard said that he believed that if Maudling had been leader, the narrow Conservative defeat would have been a narrow Conservative victory. Upon being forced out of the post by the election defeat, Maudling left a note to his successor, James Callaghan, simply stating "Good luck, old cock.... Sorry to leave it in such a mess". Second unsuccessful leadership bid Out of office, Maudling accepted the offer of a seat on the board of Kleinwort Benson in November 1964, one of the factors which led to his being shifted to spokesman on Foreign Affairs in early 1965. Unlike other potential leadership contenders, Maudling publicly maintained his loyalty to Douglas-Home as criticisms of his leadership mounted. When Douglas-Home resigned, after putting in place a system in which the leadership was directly elected, Maudling fought against Edward Heath for the position of