British Prime Minister Edward Heath Interviewed by Robin Day, BBC Panorama, 11th Oct 1971
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Topics discussed in the interview:
0:47 - Deteriorating situation in Northern Ireland (or 'Ulster');
10:13 - Unemployment, inflation, taxation; decline in Government's popularity;
18:24 - Liquidation of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS);
20:07 - British entry into the Common Market / European Economic Community (EEC), later the European Union (EU) - (overlaps with previous topics until 21:37);
27:21 - Expulsion of 105 Soviet officials from the UK (Operation FOOT, September 1971);
28:53 - Capital Punishment / Death Penalty;
29:28 - Government expenditure, including controversial measures on school milk & museum charges;
33:35 - General direction of Heath's administration
British Prime Minister Edward Heath is interviewed by Robin Day for the BBC's 'Panorama' programme, broadcast on BBC One on the evening of Monday, 11th October 1971 (8pm in all BBC regions except the South-East broadcast-region in England). The interview takes place on the eve of the 1971 Conservative Party Conference.
Temporary Audio Problem at Six Minutes:
Note the temporary reduction in the audio-quality of Heath's voice, which occurs at 6:04 when the then-Prime Minister accidentally strikes and disables his microphone. You can see the BBC crew replacing his microphone at 6:40 (on the bottom right of the screen) at which point Heath's voice starts transmitting properly once again.
Okay, so Ted was a Tory - but he stands head and shoulders above the complete shower that is today's Conservative Party.
I might not agree with everything he did, but he always put his country first before his party.
And he also saw real, active military service in a combat situation - so knew the dangers of allowing another European war - something our current leaders don't seem to understand.
Heath was a strange man. He was highly intelligent and cultured ( a very talented classical musician), but could be rude and boorish too. The general public at the time suspected that Heath was a homosexual because he wasn't married and jokingly because of his sailor pastimes. There have been rumours of Heath having been arrested and cautioned for homosexual activities in the '50s. These are rumours though and unsubstantiated. Heath might well have had little interest in sex or was homosexual and directed his energies instead into intellectual, political and cultural pursuits. Whatever the truth, there's no doubting Heath's principles and decency as an old school One Nation Conservative who was genuinely motivated by the nstional interest.
And to think Sir Robin Day was criticized for being rude and unpleasant. I didn't hear any interrupting or aggression. Today an interviewer wouldn't let their guest finish a sentence!
So much better than the adversarial approach to interviewing. I get sick of the constant interrupting of news interviewers these days. Much better to book enough time in order to get information out of politicians.
Yes, and Robin Day was considered a tough enough interviewer in his, uh, day 😏.
The quality of the interview, the clarity and formation of the speach and it not being a rushed shouting match filled with talking points just shows how far we have fallen in recent times. It's absolutely soul destroying to compare this to the current day.
I wouldn't say 'soul destroying', but very depressing yes. Society is indescribably stupid, ignorant, thoughtless and uneducated now compared to then - and watching a conversation conducted to this standard provides a very stark reminder of the fact.
Heath is misrepresented. If you actually listen to him, he’s not arrogant, not dictatorial, he doesn’t avoid answering the questions put to him and he doesn’t attempt to talk over his interviewer. But people who insist (wrongly) that he was a paedophile and people who hate the EU can’t be objective about him.
Old Robin looks very smart and well dressed. Nice bow tie on him. Dapper gentleman.
Is this the first time you have ever seen Robin Day? He was a very well known figure on British television up until around the 1992 general election.
@@johnking5174 I only discovered him through RUclips a couple of years ago. He would have been before my time.
@@pablogreene6886 Robin was infamous - hope you have watched his interview with Thatcher?
@@johnking5174 yes I did. I like the way he pauses and gives people time to finish what they are saying. He rarely interrupted his guests.
@@pablogreene6886 Watch him in the general elections of the BBC and see how good he was there too. The 1979 BBC election was his best.
You can say what you like about Heath but he was a very good speaker and well able for Robin Day here.
Words did not match action with Heath though. He could speak well, but didn't do any good with the miners etc.
Michael Jackson sang well 🤷
7:23 'The Quarrels of the Irish' - what a sloppy way to describe the situation by Day!
Brilliant upload, really enjoyed watching that. Thanks
No problem, glad you liked it!
Той е като близнак на Елцин. Все едно гледам Елцин. Същият.
the worst pm in the last 150 years was probably lord rosebery, lord home, theresa may and gordon brown
Lord North, on whose watch we lost the American colonies.
8:17 A good point by Heath. I am not sure the Mainland ever really appreciated the extent of terror that went on in Ulster- predominately by the IRA and co but also by Loyalists. It is only when the campaign came to the mainland did they really notice
Very reasonable answers by Mr Heath who imo was an honorable man, shameful for anonymous trolls to make allegations here and other places without presenting any evidence.
Whatever , your viewpoint on Sir Edward Heath, you can’t dispute that he was very well spoken , he certainly doesn’t shout over his interviewer like candidates do today, and he was of course an excellent diplomat as well.
Edward Heath a true statesman and one nation Tory from the era when politicians were principled.
Once a wip always a wip a very dangerous choice for PM
Absolutely so, well said!
@@stephenhardy312 I'm not saying I agreed with Heath. But unlike today's politicians Heath was a substantial man and an intellectual. He had genuine interests outside politics. He was a cultured man who was a talented classical musician. His sailing was another pursuit. I watched a Question Time from the late 90s with Wedgewood Benn among the panelists and both Benn and Heath were in a different league to what's around now.
True, speaking as a non-Tory, I can respect Heath for trying to do what was right for the country in a very difficult time.
I just wish we had someone of his caliber standing for the Tory leadership in 2024, but they've all deserted the Tory party.
Nothing about Israel for a change!
Yours is the dumbest online comment I've read this month. Well done.
By a country mile, the very greatest of the Kingdom’s prime ministers of the twentieth century. Heath,..the very essence of all that is of stellar quality in 🏴 England. ‘tis hardly a wonder that he hailed from the environs of Kent, the sturdy heartland of Anglo-Saxondom.
Sir Winston Churchill has clearly been airbrushed out of your history of the United Kingdom then.
Heath is the man who lost three of the four general elections he fought as Conservative Party leader and who as Prime Minister was responsible for the three day week and power cuts. A truly terrible Prime Minister, one of the worst ever never mind just the 20th Century!
He tried to do what Mrs Thatcher did later with her monetarist policies. Unfortunately he was just too nice a guy to do it, and he allowed the striking miners to destroy him.
Ten years later, having built up coal reserves, Thatcher then sent in Ian McGregor to dismantle the mining industry, and throw all the miners out of work. It was the most blatant instance of class revenge in modern British history
@@kevinlongman007PM for only 3y, Heath did take us into the Common Market, later the European Union, an issue we're still arguing about 50y later.
Harold Wilson, elected as PM 3 times for a total of 8y, left us... well nothing really
@@splinterbyrd but the UK has left the EU now and it is an issue which has divided the country, so what did Heath leave us with apart from a disunited kingdom?
Edward Heath was an actual monster. #Savethechildren
there’s no proof of this
These paedophilic allegations against Heath are discredited. As are the people who promote them. A lot of the people who "believe" this nonsense do so because they dislike Heath's politics, particularly his taking us into the EEC as it was then.
@@heiltd1286 yes and Jimmy Saville was considered a pillar of decency. If Saville would have died when Heath did, his crimes would have been swept under the carpet. The fact that he was protected all his life, would indicate it's extremely likely that an even more connected and important figure such as Heath would also enjoy indemnity at the expense of any of his victims. Heath was certainly gay, yet this was hidden from the public... I suppose you probably think he was a rampant heterosexual.
@@mikethebloodthirsty Everyone knew, myself included, that there was something amiss and sinister about Jimmy Saville. You knew he was hiding something. With Heath, what you saw was what you got, which was essentially a decent oldskool One Nation Conservative who actually became a politician because he had a calling. He could also be boorish, rude and unforgiving, but these character traits were visible to all. Heath didn't put on a false face as do many politicians nowadays. The allegations of paedophilia are unsubstantiated. I would reckon the people who believe them are the sort who elevate themselves above the mediocrities they are by attaching credence to conspiracy theories ( Kennedy Assassination, Twin Towers, Covid 19, Covid 19 vaccination)and saying " look at us. Aren't we so clever not following the official line like the sheep". There is a possibility that Heath was a homosexual ( he liked sailing and maybe sailors). The public in the 60s and 70s presumed he was; his being a bachelor. Still there's no evidence there. If he were, then he was wise to keep it secret because homosexuality had only been decriminalised shortly before he became Tory leader and was stigmatized. Obviously now we've moved on and Heath's "homosexuality" wouldn't be an issue as it shouldn't have been then.
The likelihood is that Heath was not interested in sex. He was asexual. That's hard to understand in our very sexualised era. Some people are like that. Heath was a very cultured man as well as a decent man. He was musical and could've pursued a career as a classical musician.
@@heiltd1286 they aren’t discredited, but more covered up. Like saville
20:48 - Wow, Heath's teeth were terrible. Look at the two gaping holes in either side, made him look vampiric at times. Surely the Prime Minister of a country could have access to proper dental work? Even in 1971?
Probably due to him biting into his pipe in those areas
Michael Howard's teeth was even worse. I don't know how he ended up marrying a model.
Is this really the most critical takeaway you have from this video?
‘ British dentistry ‘ ? Decent sets of choppers ? Oxymoronic, to say the least.
@@Albert-Arthur-Wison225Dentistry should have parity of esteem with the rest of the NHS.
A laugh a minute.
God he seemed like a truly awful PM, at least from the way he’s portrayed on “The Crown”. But Thatcher was just as bad if not worse and kept getting re-elected.
Terrible politician. Its no coincidence that as soon as he entered britain into the EU with no referendum, our economy started going to hell with unemployment, war, tax rises, and corruption.
All utter, unfounded nonsense.
???? We entered the EU because our economy was on the floor back then. The whole reason we entered was to kickstart the UK economy.
Memory is a fickle mistress. 😊
To be fair, negotiating entry into the European Community was included in the 1970 Conservative manifesto, though with rather vague wording.
So Heath did have a mandate of sorts, and constitutionally a UK Prime Minister does not need to hold a referendum on any policy.
@@modelcitizen2028 +1 I was 9 in 1970, but have been living in France since 1989 and been French since 2018. God bless Ted...he gave us free musical instruments to play at our council estate comprehensive school. ❤️ I made £150,000 in ten years playing that instrument 🎸 in the Sarfer Frarnce 🇨🇵🇪🇺.
The only good thing Edward Heath's government did in their miserable four years in office was to lift all restrictions on television broadcasting hours - the draconian restrictions finally scrapped on January 19th 1972 with daytime television properly launching during the year. I will give Heath credit for that.
give him credit for nothing !
He's a nonce.
@@UnderAGlassMetropolis correct !
@@UnderAGlassMetropolis correct!!
After this, Heath spent the remaining 30y of his life skulking at his house near Salisbury cathedral; an embittered old queen, salivating with hatred for Mrs Thatcher
He did get some hostages out of Iraq, if I recall correctly.
@@stevebbuk9557 He did negotiate with Saddam successfully for the release of some hostages
The Incredible Sulk, as I believe that era to be called!
@@vhayes2257 As premier he attempted to do alot of what Thatcher was later to do, but he was far too nice a guy to do it
Remainers helped him selling our fishing waters to the EEC
Brexiteers destroyed our fishing. Look at the way it's collapsed since Brexit
Boris Johnson completely sold out what remains of our UK fishing industry, as many fishermen and women are coming to realise.