UNITED KINGDOM: CONSERVATIVE REBEL ENOCH POWELL URGES BRITONS TO VOTE FOR OPPOSITION LABOUR PARTY IN GENERAL ELECTION.

Record ID: 1063857

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: CONSERVATIVE REBEL ENOCH POWELL URGES BRITONS TO VOTE FOR OPPOSITION LABOUR PARTY IN GENERAL ELECTION.
  • Date: 23rd February 1974
  • Summary: 1. LV PAN Powell arrives in hall and walks to rostrum as audience applaud (2 shots) 0.10 2. CU Enoch Powell speaking (5 shots) 1.09 3. GV Powell on rostrum as crowd apploud (2 shots) 1.14 4. LV Audience member asks question 1.20 5. CU Powell speaking 2.51 POWELL: "This is the Party leader who, on the basis of a few defaulting town councillors from Clay Cross and some foolish utterances by trade union officials, is heard accusing this political opponents of 'lacking respect' for Parliament and the Law. It is understandable that Mr. Heath does not want the electors to take this issue with them into the polling booths. He does not want the British people to decide at the ballot box the most momentous transformation in their history. He does not think they are to be trusted with anything so important - after all, they might reach the opposite conclusion to himself, and that would never do. The entire Labour Party at this election is committed in terms to fundamental renegotiation, submission to the electorate - win or lose - and, meanwhile a moratorium upon the further progress in amalgamation. In addition, you have - if a majority in Parliament is elected, is believed to have been elected because of the commitment - you not only have an enormous external constraint upon them to carry it out, but you have a tremendous internal constraint in Parliament. For in the future Parliament, a future Parliament in which there was a majority prepared to carry out that commitment, there would be a considerable number of Conservative members, known to be opposed to the EEC, who would be supporting the then Government in carrying out that commitment, and who would be supporting those who demanded that it should be fulfilled. So, within the range of what is politically possible at all, of what can be rendered binding at all, at a General Election, you have a choice between a certainty of what you don't want, and a high probability of what you do want." Initials LD/0527 AE/5.21 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th March 1974 12:00
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  • Location: BIRMINGHAM, UK
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  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA1TL5H6NWGYNOORYOFAWEQYG4E
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