In yet another display of disdain for the Anglo-American Special Relationship, the Obama administration has weighed in on the mounting tensions between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Just two days after Prime Minister David Cameron issued a robust statement in the House of Commons vowing to defend the sovereignty of the Falklands, the US State Department has undercut Britain yet again with a deeply unhelpful statement that plays into Argentina’s hands. In response to a question on the Falklands at Thursday’s State Department press briefing, a US government spokesman supported direct …
As moveigoers head to theaters this weekend, many will want to compare the person they saw on screen to the real woman. As we explained this week, there is no resource better than the Iron Lady’s own words. Our new video attempts to shine a spotlight on her important legacy—one that continues to inspire. Like President Ronald Reagan, her political soulmate, she came to power at a desperate time in her country’s history, when real leadership and bold ideas were most needed. And by applying conservative principles to the challenges …
This week brings the nationwide release of The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Streep referred to the challenge of portraying Lady Thatcher as “daunting and exciting,” and as requiring “as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses.” Her performance has already been widely praised by critics, but for those who respect Lady Thatcher, not all the omens are positive. In an interview with The New York Times, Streep compared Lady Thatcher to King Lear and commented that what interested …
American readers looking for a sweeping and superbly written study of the British Conservative Party should look no further than Robin Harris’s The Conservatives: A History, just published by Bantam Press. Its more than 600 pages cover every Conservative prime minister from Robert Peel to David Cameron, with in-depth and lively analysis of the premierships of some of the great titans of modern Britain, including Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Salisbury, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. As Harris observes in his conclusion, the Conservative Party has for two centuries symbolized the greatness …
Government bureaucrats are living the good life. Salaries and benefits are 30 percent to 40 percent higher for federal workers than their private-sector counterparts. They enjoy great benefits, such as early retirement with generous pensions. And now, the rest of America is starting to take notice. This week on Scribecast, we spoke to Iain Murray, vice president for strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He’s the author of a new book called “Stealing You Blind: How Government Fat Cats Are Getting Rich Off of You” (Regnery, 256 pages). It documents …
Tony Blair’s interview in yesterday’s Times deserves to be widely read on both sides of the Atlantic. Why? Because it shows that the Eurofederalists’ delusions of grandeur are firmly alive and remain a huge threat not only to British national sovereignty but the future of the transatlantic alliance, especially the Special Relationship. It is also a further demonstration of just how far removed Tony Blair is from political reality and public opinion in the UK, but that’s never stopped him before. Blair has always been a European idealist at heart, …
I had the privilege of attending the Ronald Reagan Centennial Gala in Washington earlier this week. Superbly organised by the Reagan Presidential Foundation, it was a truly magnificent event remembering the greatest American president of the last 100 years. Lech Walesa, the brave Polish freedom fighter who stood up to Communist tyranny, received the Reagan Centennial Freedom Award, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan delivered a moving message by video from her home in California. Another highlight of the evening was the brilliant speech by British Defence Secretary Liam Fox, …
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday spoke in conversation at The Heritage Foundation with Heritage President Edwin J. Feulner about his long career in public service and private enterprise and on his recently published and best-selling memoir Known and Unknown. The memoir is a fascinating read, as reviewers both friendly and hostile have agreed. As the Secretary has been alive for one-third of the history of the United States—as he ruefully observed—it’s not surprising that his memoir is such a treasure trove. His remarks on Ronald Reagan, Margaret …
Labour leadership contender John McDonnell’s comments on Margaret Thatcher are a sickening disgrace, and a stain on his party. In a leadership debate today, McDonnell stated that if he could return to the ‘80’s he would “assassinate Thatcher”. As LabourList recorded (hat tip: Jonathan Isaby): John McDonnell says he was on the GLC – and that if he could go back in time and do one thing, he would visit the 1980s and “assassinate Thatcher”. I have had the honor of working for Margaret Thatcher, and, like anyone who has …
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and said: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” On November 9, 1989, just two years after Reagan made his Brandenburg Gate speech, the people of Germany did tear down “this wall” and in so doing they freed hundreds of millions of people from …
