Profile picture
, 4 tweets, 2 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
Whatever the rights and wrongs of Corbyn's position, Harold Wilson was *not* neutral in the 1975 referendum. Here he is in Cardiff, campaigning to "Keep Britain in Europe".
Wilson never pretended to be "dappy" about Europe - as he once put it, "I don't stand on the South Coast, look towards the Continent, and say 'there's a new Jerusalem'" - but his support for the Yes campaign in 1975 was one of its strongest assets. From my book, "Yes to Europe":
The key task for the Yes campaign in 1975 was to give sceptical Labour voters, who saw EEC membership as a Tory policy, a reason to change their minds. Wilson was better placed to do that than a Euro-enthusiast like Roy Jenkins. So the Yes vote was very much Wilson's achievement.
It also allowed Wilson to marginalise the Bennite Left in the party, if only temporarily. This was how his advisor, Bernard Donoughue, described the strategy:
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Robert Saunders

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @redhistorian see all

Profile picture
Robert Saunders
@redhistorian
If you want to understand the history and character of anti-Judaism, this is an excellent place to start. @MiriERubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History @QMHistory, gives "A Short Introduction to Anti-Judaism" for the @MileEndInst . qmul.ac.uk/mei/news-and-o…
@MiriERubin @QMHistory @MileEndInst As @MiriERubin writes, "All hates are historically determined. They ... share certain traits, but they are also distinctive". Blanket repudiations of "racism" are not enough: if we are to tackle anti-Judaism, we need to understand the historic character of anti-Jewish prejudice.
@MiriERubin @QMHistory @MileEndInst The long history of anti-Judaism, writes @MiriERubin, reveals both the depth of the problem in the past and the scale of the challenge in the present. qmul.ac.uk/mei/news-and-o…
Read 4 tweets
Profile picture
Robert Saunders
@redhistorian
This whole argument (on both sides) misses the point. The 1945 Tory manifesto, like Labour's, promised "a comprehensive health service", free at the point of use. But the parties disagreed radically on how it should be run & on the role of state/private provision. They still do.
It's true that the original NHS Bill, as designed by Bevan, faced considerable opposition - often from medical professionals - but that opposition focused on qs like who owned the hospitals, nationalisation of charitable organisations, GPs' pay & conditions, and private practice.
Arguing about who founded the NHS or whether there's a secret plot to abolish it distracts us from thinking abt how the NHS is financed, the role of private companies & the future of social care. The parties have *very* different views on this, which deserve more serious scrutiny
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
Robert Saunders
@redhistorian
So many of our problems come from trying to make a parliamentary system work like a presidency, with none of the checks and balances of an actual presidential system: formal separation of powers, separate elections for the legislature, direct elections for the leader &c. [THREAD]
2. If we want a parliamentary democracy, that comes with certain conditions. It is not compatible with letting party members appoint a Prime Minister, who then uses the powers of the executive to shut down our elected Parliament.
3. It is not compatible with letting unelected party activists overrule our elected representatives, by forcing on them a leader whom they have voted to remove - a leader whose influence over the legislative process then comes from those same MPs, whose legitimacy has been denied
Read 7 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Corbyn in The Times
@TimesCorbyn
Many remain voters might be tempted by Corbyn's claims that he will be neutral on EU/Referendum. Don't be fooled, this is what he really thinks:

'The EU project has nothing to do with workers rights, protecting the environment or raising living standards," Mr Corbyn argues.' 1/9
'It has been and will be about cutting back on wages, social services and workers' rights in order to suit big business.' 2/9
'Ultimately, for Mr Corbyn, the European Union represents a threat to democracy. The European Commission can lay down legislation with the agreement of the Council of Ministers, which then overrides national parliaments.' 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Profile picture
Andrew Duff
@AndrewDuffEU
Were I still an MEP or MP for a party that had promoted the referendum in the first place and had pledged to respect its outcome, I would vote for the Johnson deal now, without pleasure but with integrity. @LibDems @UKLabour @duponline Why? 1/
(a) The deal respects outcome of the referendum, resolving the most acute Brexit uncertainty for both Britain and Europe, restoring investor confidence. (b) It delivers the same deal on citizens’ rights and money negotiated by May to which nobody much objected. 2/
(c) It delivers the invaluable transition period and decent joint governance arrangements, possibly until the end of 2022, which minimises all-round disruption and takes us beyond certainly one and possibly two general elections. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Profile picture
Gilead Ini
@GileadIni
What's the deal with with Jeremy Corbyn? For those who haven't followed the story, here's why so many people, and especially Jews, are concerned about the man who presided over the Labour antisemitism crisis. [A thread based on camera.org/article/jeremy…]
2/ Let's begin in January 2006—it's not the very beginning, but still a very good place to start. Not for the first time, Corbyn then campaigned for the release of two convicted terrorists who who set off a bomb at a London building HOUSING JEWISH CHARITIES and at the IL embassy.
3/ In 2009, #Corbyn warmly called Hezbollah "friends," described them as committed to "peace, social justice, and political justice," and called on people to support them. Hezbollah, a proscribed terror organization, inter alia had BOMBED AN ARGENTINA JEWISH CENTER, killing 85.
Read 43 tweets
Profile picture
Filomena Rocha
@Filomen03258997
16. Holocaust in Yemen caused by US, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAEmirates, Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Senegal, Sudan, Qatar, Morocco, Canada, Australia, Germany
#Yemen #CrimesAgainstHumanity #WarCrime #Holocaust #YemenCantWait #YemenHolocaust #WorldHypocrisy
1. Holocaust in Yemen caused by US, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAEmirates, Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Senegal, Sudan, Qatar, Morocco, Canada, Australia, Germany 🤨👇🏼
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1109495…
2. Holocaust in Yemen caused by US, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAEmirates, Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Senegal, Sudan, Qatar, Morocco, Canada, Australia, Germany 🤨👇🏼
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1112537…
Read 107 tweets
Profile picture
Glen O'Hara
@gsoh31
Now, where was I? Oh yes, threads earlier talking about v likely #Corbyn #Labour government that failure of MV3 has created. I warn you that I've been to a Bottomless Brunch of Prosecco with some of my cousins, but short thread follows.
Let's start here: even in their best case scenario, #Labour is likely to be in a minority. Evidence is legion that they are going to catch an absolute *tonking* in Scotland, and I'd be surprised if they had held more than one seat there as things stand.
In that situation, LDs, SNP, Green, Plaid will try to hold them to another #EUref. Given c.25-35 Labour rebels, they will need a combined majority of 50-70 to avoid tearing themselves apart over this. That's the first step.
Read 17 tweets
Profile picture
Far Left Hate Watch
@FarLeftHate
Upon reading London now has worse murder rate this year than New York and other soaring gang related crime statistics, felt compelled to write a thread about @SadiqKhan his role as Mayor and what his #priorities should be instead of what they appear to be. 1/15
He has taken action in ensuring (a) Mean tweets on social media are being policed and has also ensured some of his targets have been ex-Muslims for so-called “hate speech.” See @ShaziaHobbs for example. 2/15
(b) He avoids answering questions on the annual Al-Quds march in London which is pro-Hezbollah, “Hezbollah” means “Party of Allah” regularly features banners & chants of “death to the Jews” #Corbyn has been a speaker. 3/15
Read 15 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Corbyn #TheBattleforBrexit #Belarus #WeAreUSS #European #Sweden #SaudiArabia #weapons #NickyMorgan #Jordan #Europe #US #Britain #Russia #China #Putin #UN #Hodiedah #KAG #GE19 #YPJ #DoNotAbandonRojava #Tory #Saudi #Syria
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!