I seriously doubt it. Roberts has a decent reputation as a historian - see his biographies of Halifax and Salisbury - and as far as I can see this was definately written with tongue in cheek.
It was called "Withot Her" and broadcast in October 1993, I think....Is there a good timeline anywhere on here for a 1983 Labour victory where the 'longest suicide note' manifesto is implemented?
I remember a BBC documentary a long time ago which did something along those lines, a 'What if no Falklands', or Maggie lost? or something. I don't recall what it was called but it came up with some interesting if unlikely counterfactuals, such as an 'orbital railway' around London instead of the M25. Needless to say this alternative transport proposal was a great success, and I recall the documentary tended a bit towards the wanktastic in places.
I seriously doubt it. Roberts has a decent reputation as a historian - see his biographies of Halifax and Salisbury - and as far as I can see this was definately written with tongue in cheek.
Both Foot and Benn were as patriotic as you could get. In fact, to even consider that they worked for the KGB is laughable.As an American who remembers Foot's avowed pacifism as well as his avowed opposition to Fascism and support for the liberation of the Falklands, I can only say of this article: Hmmm, project much? Sounds like he's describing a Tony Benn Prime Ministership. Personally, I'd have to go through the entire KGB Archives before I'd even BEGIN to give "Red Tony" the benefit of the doubt.![]()
Both Foot and Benn were as patriotic as you could get. In fact, to even consider that they worked for the KGB is laughable.
Even by Roberts' standards, this is ridiculous. As Thande points out, what would be the point for the Chinese to get HK ahead of schedule, when all they had to do is wait five more years? Perhaps he wanted Foot to look even worse than his personal goddess Margaret Thatcher, who negotiated the HK handover in the first place.Labour failed to foresee the immediate and devastating international consequences of such weakness.
The Chinese unilaterally brought forward the date of the handover of Hong Kong by five years to 1992; the Spanish imposed a total blockade on Gibraltar; and France demanded the return of the Channel Islands, on the grounds that they were far closer to the French coast than to the British.
None of this would have much mattered had not the Americans, under President Ronald Reagan, enraged by Foot's support of CND, supported moves to bring an end to Britan's occupancy of her seat on the United Nations Security Council. The result was that a weakened Britain was unable to muster any international support against these aggressive acts on her sovereign territory.
To widespread scorn, Foot capitulated on the new date for the Hong Kong handover, then ceded control both of Gibraltar and the Channel Islands.