Sovereignty

Useful review here by Euan Ferguson of a BBC Radio 4 programme by Peter Hitchens, yes, that Peter Hitchens, on the nature of the so-called and supposed Special Relationship between the US and the UK which you can hear until later today. Hitchens is not exactly the first name one might go to for such an exercise, but his very real conservatism is a curious thing which spins off in odd directions – much of it informed by enormous pessimism, from his very particular perspective, as regards the future across a range of areas whether economic, social and political.

For example here’s his take on what the future holds for the island of Ireland –

I wouldn’t have said this ten years ago, but I have since changed my mind. I am much less sure that Wales either wants or needs its own assembly, and I am completely against any sort of parliament for Northern Ireland which – if it is to have justice and law – would be much better off ruled directly from London. I think such a solution would also have been better by far for the Irish Republic, which is going to face many difficulties when it eventually absorbs Northern Ireland as a very anomalous and troublesome special autonomous zone.

Well, we’ll see.

Anyhow, it’s well worth listening to the programme which outlines how there are very strong links in diplomatic and military terms but how skewed this relationship actually is. And there’s this, which Ferguson notes:

Re-uncovered was the fact that America offered Polaris to France before Britain: De Gaulle rejected the offer, surmising correctly that he could then describe Britain as the US’s “vassal state”.