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Logically, the favorite candidate was Rab Butler, the austere, coldly intelligent son of an Indian civil servant, and sometime Master of Pembroke College. Cambridge. As architect of the "new" Conservatism in domestic policies and leader of the younger Tories. Rab Butler was informally rated No. 2 Tory, chaired Cabinet meetings when Eden was away. Though Butler loyally defended Eden's Suez policies, he had managed to convey that he was less than enthusiastic. Otherwise he made no effort to challenge Eden's leadership: at 54, he recognized that he was young enough to wait his turn.
Sad-eyed. Edwardian-elegant Harold Macmillan was ranked No. 3. An ex-Guards officer and book publisher, he was married to a daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, and was related through her to Senior Tory Party Leader Lord Salisbury.
During prewar days, Salisbury, Churchill, Eden and Macmillan had been a quartet outspoken in opposing the appeasement policies of Neville Chamberlain (while Butler, as foreign-policy spokesman in the House, was defending Chamberlain). At 62, Macmillan was three years older than Eden, had only recently joked about resigning soon to accept the peerage "that is my right" as a retiring senior Cabinet member. He had supported Eden on Suez: a vote for him did not involve admitting that Suez was a blunder.
At Boodle's. The subtle machinery of Tory policymaking went to work. After Eden left the Cabinet room, Lord Salisbury and the Lord High Chancellor. Lord Kilmuir (better known as ex-Home Secretary David Maxwell Fyfe), stayed behind. As the other Cabinet members left, they asked each to come back individually later to give his private views on his choice for successor. In another room, the junior ministers talked. In both cases the consensus was reportedly overwhelmingly in favor of Macmillan. All evening long, at the Carlton Club, in Beefsteak and Boodle's, at White's and the Bath Club, and across Piccadilly at the Turf, the same curious process of evolution went on. Thirty Suez-Group backbenchers gathered privately, sent word to the party chiefs that they would not serve under Butler. Butler's chief support came from "progressive" Tories who liked his social-welfare theories. Tory right-wingers were terrified of Butler's "pink socialism." and heartily annoyed at his presumed disloyalty to Eden on Suez. To this kind of Conservative, even if Macmillan reached the same answer as Butler on an economic question, he would have done so by sounder processes. And he had proved himself true Tory blue on Empire. Furthermore, Macmillan, as a businessman himself and an able administrator, had the confidence of the Tories' business and financial backers.
As the night wore on, it became apparent that Butler would command broad but unenthusiastic support, but would arouse bitter opposition from the right-wingers. Macmillan would get only tepid adherence from the Tory left, but their opposition would be far less virulent than the Suez Groupers' against Butler. In a word, Butler's supporters would acquiesce in the choice of Macmillan; Macmillan's supporters would bitterly oppose Butler. On balance, the choice was clearly Macmillan.