 |
|
Following on from yesterday’s post, today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emergency Debate on the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. The BBC Parliament channel repeated the three hour debate last Sunday evening. For those of us who are never happier than when wearing our political anoraks, it made for an interesting evening’s viewing.
The debate took place unusually on a Saturday morning. Unsurprisingly, it was very well attended by both sides of the House. Listening to the contributions reminded me of the importance of Parliament. It was undeniably a time of confusion and anger, and the Commons served to allow those concerned Members to vent their disgust at the invasion, their frustration about apparent government inaction in the weeks preceding, and most importantly, to express the views of the nation at large.
There were many distinguished speeches from the floor. The debate was begun by the Prime Minister, to which Michael Foot responded admirably – Foot had been an ardent supporter of those in the 1930s who had called for the end of the appeasement of Hitler. Memorably, Enoch Powell, then an Ulster Unionist, cleverly challenged Mrs Thatcher on her apparent pleasure at receiving her newly bestowed sobriquet, ‘The Iron Lady’ (quote above), in the light of events likely to follow. Edward du Cann, the then MP for Taunton, in response to Michael Foot’s speech, summed up the general feeling of the House most eloquently:
There are times in the affairs of our nation when the House should speak with a single, united voice. This is just such a time. The Leader of the Opposition spoke for us all. He did this nation a service when, in clear and unmistakable terms, he condemned what he called this brutal aggression and when he affirmed the rights of the Falkland Islanders to decide their own destiny.
Listening to the debate reminded me of the importance of Parliament during times of national distress. In the light of recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kenneth Clarke was right to recently call for the House of Commons to be formally included in the decision-making process of this country going to war. On April 3rd 1982, the Commons successfully and strongly debated the events preceding the invasion at the same time as offering its full support for the government’s decision to send a task force to the South Atlantic. Future legislation regards the role of Parliament at such times should recall that historically, the elected representatives of this country, of whatever political colour, have displayed admirable qualities when determining the use of our armed forces in the defence of this nation. We would do well to remember that.
