Labour's First Year : 1945-46
1946 1946 1940s 27 pages Europe. And when he added that the question of the regime in Spain was one for the Spanish people to decide, careless of the fact that Franco's armed force made it impossible for the Spaniards to settle their own future, he announced, in deeds that meant more than w...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
|---|---|
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : Common Wealth Publications Committee
1946
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/E035BDD4-5314-4E09-94EC-58E3D38AA004 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/49243567-EE73-491A-8DE3-03FAB16C47DD |
| _version_ | 1771659907028746240 |
|---|---|
| description | 1946
1946
1940s
27 pages
Europe. And when he added that the question of the regime in Spain was one for the Spanish people to decide, careless of the fact that Franco's armed force made it impossible for the Spaniards to settle their own future, he announced, in deeds that meant more than words, that Labour was not going to risk a Communist Spain. The Fiasco of the Foreign Ministers The September meeting of the Foreign Ministers in London was a failure. Technically, the Conference could not agree about the meaning of some of the Potsdam decisions. The real trouble (according to J.F. Dalles, the Republican adviser of the U.S. delegation) was the Soviet desire for a great warm-water port on the Mediterranean, comparable to Port Arthur on the Pacific. The Soviet Government defended their request for trusteeship of Tripolitania by pointing out the immense success Soviet methods of developing backward peoples had had in Central Asia. Another source of friction was U.S.S.R. resentment at the refusal of U.S.A. to conclude Peace Treaties with Rumania and Hungary. In Parliament, on November 7th, Mr. Bevin revealed at once his good intentions and his duality of policy which was ruining their effect. He declared that he was ready to put the cards on the table face upwards and that he would do nothing to stir up hatred towards, or create a situation detrimental to, Russia. And then he said that he was a little bit suspicious if a Great Power wanted to come right across the throat of the British Commonwealth and added a priceless Imperialist remark about how cheaply the British Navy had policed the world for 300 years! Did Bevin and the rest of the Labour Cabinet not remember that the Navy was used, repeatedly, to keep Europe divided and weak? That it was used to safeguard the largest Empire in the world — called a slum Empire by Mr. Lloyd George? That it was used to blockade Soviet Russia in an effort to strangle her in 1917-20? The reference to a Great Power coming across the throat of the British Commonwealth was no more auspicious. Mr. Bevin was warning off any rival which might threaten British Imperialism. Surely, even from the practical, to say nothing of the Socialist, angle, an attempt to hold on to Britain's large collection of subject peoples in Asia, Africa and Australasia is certain to fail to-day. Britain has neither the economic resources, nor the armed forces, to keep the sea-routes and air-routes, the territories and the hinterlands, together. If she attempts to do so, she must fall back on U.S. strength and be America's humble vassal. 6
15X/2/98/21 |
| geographic | UK |
| id | HEA-941_08a09b4fbd454cbb9d25101e743f9826 |
| institution | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| is_hierarchy_title | Labour's First Year : 1945-46 |
| language | English English |
| physical | TEXT |
| publishDate | 1946 |
| publisher | London : Common Wealth Publications Committee |
| spellingShingle | Maitland Sara Hallinan Pamphlets: Common Wealth Health care Labour Party (Great Britain) ; Great Britain--Politics and government--1945-1964 Labour's First Year : 1945-46 |
| title | Labour's First Year : 1945-46 |
| topic | Maitland Sara Hallinan Pamphlets: Common Wealth Health care Labour Party (Great Britain) ; Great Britain--Politics and government--1945-1964 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/E035BDD4-5314-4E09-94EC-58E3D38AA004 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/49243567-EE73-491A-8DE3-03FAB16C47DD |