From Churchill to Thatcher | Michael Foot Reflects on a Lifetime in British Politics (1992)

Video Description

On 16 March 1992, former Labour Party leader and parliamentary veteran Michael Foot spoke to ITN's Gary Gibbon. Foot, who first entered the House of Commons as MP for Plymouth Devonport in 1945, was retiring from parliamentary politics at the age of 79. Foot reflected on the role of parliament in British politics during his lifetime, from challenging the Chamberlain government's policy of appeasement in the inter-war years through to opposition to Margaret Thatcher's introduction of the Poll Tax in 1990. He discussed the House of Commons' response to several international crises, from the 1940 debate that brought Winston Churchill to power, the Suez Crisis of 1956, Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and the Yugoslav Wars. The interview provides a fascinating eyewitness account of British parliamentary politics in the 20th Century. 00:00 1930s appeasement and Neville Chamberlain's downfall 02:41 1945 election, Aneurin Bevan and post-war government 04:51 Nye Bevan, Winston Churchill and the art of parliamentary debate 10:09 British Parliament in the 1990s 11:43 Margaret Thatcher's attitude towards Commons 13:02 Margaret Thatcher's resignation speech, 22 November 1990 15:21 Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech against Thatcher, 13 November 1990 16:26 Falklands War: Emergency Saturday debate of 3 April 1982 18:19 On British parliament and military intervention abroad #MichaelFoot #LabourParty #Labour #HouseOfCommons #BritishPolitics #PoliticalHistory #SecondWorldWar #WW2 #WorldWar2 #WorldWarTwo #Suez #FalklandsWar #Falklands #MargaretThatcher #WinstonChurchill #AneurinBevan #NyeBevan #SaddamHussein #GulfWar #Iraq #Yugoslavia #Serbia #YugoslavWars #Parliament #Politics #Power #History To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/search/2/film?phrase=R160392003* To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage/itn 🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - https://www.youtube.com/@ITNArchive 🎥 Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ITNArchive 🎥 Like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ITNArchiveITNP 🎥 Check out our TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@itnarchive1955