• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

The ‘not quite right’ Boris Johnson article Thatcher read before her downfall

The then PM highlighted parts of the report before making a key statement which triggered a Tory rebellion.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
February 29, 2020
in Politics
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

A key Commons statement by Margaret Thatcher which helped trigger her downfall may have been influenced by a news story written by Boris Johnson which was ‘not quite right’, newly-released documents suggest.

The story, published on October 24, 1990, and written by Mr Johnson when he was the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent, was about European Commission president Jacques Delors.

It was headlined ‘British Right Of Veto Faces Axe In Delors Plan’ and Mrs Thatcher marked two lines beside the headline on a cutting of the article in her despatch box file.

Thatcher Foundation
Margaret Thatcher with Jacques Delors

She also marked two lines beside a paragraph which read: “M Delors said the plans were intended to pave the way for a Federation of Europe, a super-state with the Brussels Commission as the executive government and the Council of Ministers as a senate.”

But Chris Collins, from the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust which is making the documents available to the public, said Mr Johnson’s article was “not quite right”.

A memo written two days later by senior Foreign Office official Richard Gozney to Mrs Thatcher’s Private Secretary Charles Powell, and also kept in the Number 10 file, noted: “The Commission Opinion itself… does not contain what M Delors is reported by the Daily Telegraph as having suggested.

“It does not propose any radical change in the present institutional plans of the Community – although it does contain a lot of other horrors.”

RelatedPosts

David Lammy reveals why Labour Party are like Tottenham Hotspur

Brexit: Foster accused of ‘legitimising’ loyalist paramilitaries with Protocol meeting

Covid crisis has made UK look “dysfunctional” – Brown

Leave campaign made Brexit a “new religion” to win votes – University report finds

On October 30, Mrs Thatcher made a House of Commons statement in which she defiantly declared “no, no, no” to M Delors.

The statement came during a time of intense division in the Tory party over Europe and proved too much for Sir Geoffrey Howe, who quit as leader of the Commons and deputy prime minister days later and made a devastating resignation speech from which Mrs Thatcher never recovered.

She was ousted a few days later.

Sir Geoffrey Howe
Sir Geoffrey Howe quit as deputy prime minister days later (PA)

Mr Collins said Mr Johnson’s article was “not quite right” and Mrs Thatcher “knows it’s not quite right”.

But he added:  “A lot of Conservatives would read articles like that one by Boris Johnson – I’m sure it wasn’t the only one written at the time – and say ‘yes, that’s what these guys (in Brussels) are up to’.

“Those pressures are all around her and she is treading this terribly, perilously difficult path.

“It’s not clear that she wanted a war, as it were, and yet she feels many of these things too and she’s got this sinuous route to follow.

“While I’m not saying this is the cause of her downfall or anything like that – it would be absurd to suggest that – the forces that are in play are somewhat revealed by the presence of that article.”

The Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust is gradually overseeing the release of her private files through the Churchill Archive Centre in Cambridge.

Members of the public will be able to browse the archive from Saturday by visiting www.margaretthatcher.org.

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Boris Johnson reckons we will return to office life and working from home won’t last

Credit;PA

‘Donald J Trump ain’t going anywhere’ – Trump remains the dominant force at US conservative conference

thunder ball results

Thunder Ball Results, Saturday 27th February 2021

National Lottery Lotto Results – Saturday 27th February 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.