relations with the European Community which Britain joined on 1 January 1973. Davies' role was predominantly behind the scenes in making sure British law was in compliance with European law. In Cabinet discussions, Davies advocated a confrontational approach to the trade unions, although he feared for the future. Opposition After Heath left office in 1974, Davies retained his Parliamentary seat but was not given a post in the Shadow Cabinet. He resumed his directorship of Hill Samuel. From May he took the Chairmanship of the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons, examining the details of legislation, and won a strong reputation for looking in detail at the regulations coming out of the EC institutions. In 1975, Davies campaigned for a 'Yes' vote in the referendum on EC membership. Davies was nominated by the Conservative Party as a European Commissioner for the term beginning in 1977, but was unacceptable to the Labour government. However, in November 1976 Margaret Thatcher decided to sack Reginald Maudling as Shadow Foreign Secretary and appointed Davies to replace him. Thatcher's memoirs give praise for the effectiveness of Davies' work in the role. Davies was not a strong supporter of monetarism, although he did agree with Thatcher's view on Soviet expansionism. The major disagreement within the Conservative Party was over Rhodesia and whether to continue sanctions on the government of Ian Smith: Davies believed that Smith was not entirely committed to a negotiated peace and therefore that sanctions should be maintained. Illness and death Davies was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 1978 and swiftly stood down from the Shadow Cabinet and from Parliament. Davies was granted the position of Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 6 November 1978. In the Queen's birthday honours list of 1979, he was awarded a life peerage, but he died on 4 July 1979, before the patent of creation passed the Great Seal. Peerage history was made when, by Royal Warrant bearing the date 27 February 1980, his widow Vera Georgina was granted the style and title of Baroness Harding-Davies of St. Mellons, indicating the title Davies had intended to take; his children Francis William Harding Harding-Davies and Rosamond Ann Metherell were given the rank of children of life peers. References Appendix One, The Biographical Dictionary of Life Peers by W. D. Rubinstein (St Martin's Press, 1991) The Path to Power by Margaret Thatcher (HarperCollins, 1995) John