Harold Wilson Opposes Britain's Entry into Europe - Extended Interview (1971)

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

Despite enormous pressure from the U.S. he kept Britain out of the Vietnam war, possibly his greatest achievement.

[@EzraMerr]

UK, Australia, South Korea, and Philippines had operations with troops in Vietnam; difference was there were no national drafts

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

@ the U.K. had no troop deployments to Vietnam during the war, both Edward Heath & Harold Wilson refused U.S requests to join the war. It did provide the U.S. with intelligence reports from its base in Hong Kong & also some arms shipments… but no U.K. troops.

[@Jeremy-y1t]

@@tattyshoesshigure5731 British troops served in Vietnam.

[@LeRoiDelaRue]

Great to see history like this available How much freer were party leaders to speak their mind

[@robertdavidson8028]

They were more honest, and had more integrity I think. Altogether of higher calibre - in his case, anyway.

[@mided2119]

The title is clickbait. Within the first 2 minutes of the interview, he says he is in favour of joining the Common Market, just not on the specific terms that the Heath government were taking us in on. Wilson was not anti-EEC and wouldn’t have been a Brexiter. Stop the clickbait lol.

[@TM-yr3pc]

A Fairly fundamental distinction, so hardly click bait …we still face the same dilemma. Uk integrationists never seem to look to the failure of Europe to respect nation states as a cause of their european strife…something they might work upon.

[@RobertBurke-tq9zu]

That's not what he said though, don't accuse them of misrepresenting, when you do the thing you are accusing.

[@alberttatlock1541]

I never liked Wilson. But watch him actually answer the questions, and no ranting, no deflections, no interrupting. REAL questions, not gotchas. And all done respectfully on both sides of the interview. Its the same with most politicians of the era. for example 2 polar opposites such as Michael Foot and Enoch Powell could have a discussion while remaining calm respectful and not interrupting each other.

[@davidvasey5065]

Possibly the greatest political speaker who's ever lived. He absolutely never slipped up ever.

[@richardronaldharrison842]

But you couldn’t trust a word Harold Wilson Said! 😟😔😞

[@richardronaldharrison842]

​@@liamb8644 But Harold Wilson left in 1976 , and Margret Thatcher stayed! 👍

[@wilsonfisk6626]

Blair

[@richardronaldharrison842]

@@liamb8644 No , Blair Had the same policy’s As Maggie! 😉 👍

[@richardronaldharrison842]

@@liamb8644 No , Blair had the same policy’s As Maggie! 😉 👍

[@nathelondon3719]

He wasn’t opposed. Margaret Thatcher held exactly the same view.

[@joeoconnor5400]

What a shame by 1976 his powers were in decline.

[@lectorintellegat]

Pure cognitive dissonance. I love it.

[@gregjones-x8c]

His economic judgement was certainly in decline. 1974/5 dishing out 30% plus pay increases to the grasping public sector which resulted in 27% inflation, UK's highest ever rate.

[@robertdavidson8028]

@@gregjones-x8c I think you'll find that Stagflation, as it was called, was actually caused by the policies of Anthony Barber, Chancellor of Exchequer under Heath, so if you want to demonise politicians you shouldn't really leave him / them out; imo they were less competent than a not quite so competent HW, as he was in his second term. Also, what Mr o'Connor was referring to, I think, rather than your cheap shot, was the early onset Alzheimer's disease which, it is widely surmised, was already having an effect by 1974, and which he recognised in, (or perhaps before) 1976, when he handed over power (in a way which should have been an example to Joe Biden) to his, I fear, less competent successor, Jim Callaghan. However, I think a compromised HW was better than anything that has followed, quite frankly. Or maybe I am being too harsh, and policies with any humanity or generosity in them wouldn't work, and the only alternative was what Mrs Thatcher did post her Falklands victory, and take the Hatchet, not only to the miners and their families, but, in the long term, the country's manufacturing industry - notably the car industry and the steel industry - which people in south wales are still suffering long term effects from, and which decimated large parts of the country, and instead promoted the service industries - and the banking sector of course, which has done us so proud over the term of this century. However, for some reason, the conservatives never seem to get any blame for any of this debacle, for which they should be held much more culpable than old Labour - especially when considering their other failures, such as the privatisation of Rail, Mail, Energy and Water, or, more narrowly, the rise in homelessness in the 80's, or the surge in elderly deaths during Hatchett's period in office; nor the lack of Britain's competitiveness on the world stage due to her policies, nor the fact that she took credit for Blair, and thus for the situation that Students and Universities now find themselves in, or for Major and Blair's instigation and ramping up of PFI, which has, and will, impoverish the country for decades, paying back the vast interest that must be paid for the building of new Hospitals - and for the situation the NHS now finds itself in, which 14 years of austerity haven't helped. So if you want to play the blame game, I think you should tread a little more warily, because at least two can play at that game, and I think the blame lies more on the side you don't say much about, rather than the side you - like many biased people in the 60's and 70's - were only too eager to try and demonise. I think a few less less hackneyed, unoriginal, thoughts and opinions are in order; and - as they say, people who live in glass houses........

[@leegibbs1727]

What a political operator this man was. There was no question that could phase him

[@Da1Dez]

This just shows that Wilson was the last leader and PM who really believed in Britain, it's people and who did the best socially and economically for the country.

[@Jeremy-y1t]

Wilson was a Soviet agent like Foot.

[@guyh9992]

Wilson sold out Australia, NZ, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei in the late 1960s with his withdrawal from the Indo-Pacific under his "East of Suez" strategy. He had no intention of preserving Commonwealth trade preference despite his protests here. The Commonwealth saw the writing on the wall with applications by MacMillan and Wilson to join the EEC and made other arrangements throughout the 1960s.

[@markpower9081]

The British suited themselves, and did the Commonwealth. All were grown-ups.

[@stephenchappell7512]

The withdrawal was an economic necessity however it was never actually implemented during his premiership but rather during the following conservative administration in 1972

[@67Parsifal]

A brilliant man.

[@ronmccullock1407]

Wise words

[@nathelondon3719]

Do you remember that Edward Heath went on his knees begging entry into the EEC and Charles de Gaulle who, together with his cabinet, was put up in a hotel in London during the war, paid by the British public, said NON. I remember the headlines.

[@Jeremy-y1t]

Actually that was Wilson in 1967.

[@stephenchappell7512]

@Jeremy-y1t It was actually 1966 nevertheless you're correct

[@Jeremy-y1t]

@@stephenchappell7512 It was on 27 November 1967.

[@ivandinsmore6217]

He didn't oppose Britain's entry into "Europe" just into the Common Market/EEC.

[@RobertBurke-tq9zu]

Futile statement.

[@Jeremy-y1t]

British troops served in Vietnam.

[@football-phoenix]

True socialists hated the EU like Tony Ben not sure about this chap though

[@stephenchappell7512]

The 'EU' wasn't formed until after Maastricht in 1992

[@stephenchappell7512]

The EU came long after his premiership ended