The Student Room Group

Greatest lesser known victories for Prime Ministers?

Harold Wilson kept us out of Vietnam “Wilson’s finest hour” Andrew Marr.
Original post by OneLoneGarrison
Harold Wilson kept us out of Vietnam “Wilson’s finest hour” Andrew Marr.

Cameron pushed for austerity during a time when governments were happy to spend money like there was no tomorrow. Also this...
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Original post by Gundabad(good)
Cameron pushed for austerity during a time when governments were happy to spend money like there was no tomorrow. Also this...
download.jpg

The last Tory Prime Minister I cared for was Alec Douglas-Home.
Margaret Thatcher getting the EU Single Market approved and pushed through. (In those days the Tories were a mainstream intelligent party with serious policies.)

New Labour passing laws that enabled the police to sequester cars on the spot where road taxes are not paid, or drivers not licensed or insured. Made the place a lot safer!
Original post by Fullofsurprises
Margaret Thatcher getting the EU Single Market approved and pushed through. (In those days the Tories were a mainstream intelligent party with serious policies.)

New Labour passing laws that enabled the police to sequester cars on the spot where road taxes are not paid, or drivers not licensed or insured. Made the place a lot safer!

The EU was fine when it was just a single market. The problem was it became a political project.

Some stereotypes are unfortunately true and the Germans do have a pathological need to control others (It is the historical consensus since Fritz Fischer that WW1 was Germany’s fault, we all know about WW2 and Germany’s snooping laws are extremely worrying).

New Labour were pragmatic, they won the 1997 election as David Dimbleby in one of his more lucid moments reflected, because of providing something real and not bluster unlike the Tories at the time.
Original post by OneLoneGarrison
The EU was fine when it was just a single market. The problem was it became a political project.

Some stereotypes are unfortunately true and the Germans do have a pathological need to control others (It is the historical consensus since Fritz Fischer that WW1 was Germany’s fault, we all know about WW2 and Germany’s snooping laws are extremely worrying).

New Labour were pragmatic, they won the 1997 election as David Dimbleby in one of his more lucid moments reflected, because of providing something real and not bluster unlike the Tories at the time.

The EU has always been a fusion of self-interest, vaunting idealistic claims of a federal state and realpolitik. The Single Market was the UK applying pressure on it to make it more practically valuable.

The federal superstate remains an exaggerated fantasy in the main. The Commission people trot it out on autopilot but no serious national government in the EU is going to allow it.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
The EU has always been a fusion of self-interest, vaunting idealistic claims of a federal state and realpolitik. The Single Market was the UK applying pressure on it to make it more practically valuable.

The federal superstate remains an exaggerated fantasy in the main. The Commission people trot it out on autopilot but no serious national government in the EU is going to allow it.

I would be happy to keep the common European interest (thought would like to see Germany and France’s power reduced within the EU) and its collective tariff power against the abomination that is the USA.

I would just rather avoid Claude Drunker and the others dictating punitive copyright directives to British citizens.
Reply 7
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TJ1997
18
Technically under Jack Straw, but Blair pushed through the total ban on handguns and the Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence.
Reply 8
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Napp
22
Original post by OneLoneGarrison
The EU was fine when it was just a single market. The problem was it became a political project.

Some stereotypes are unfortunately true and the Germans do have a pathological need to control others (It is the historical consensus since Fritz Fischer that WW1 was Germany’s fault, we all know about WW2 and Germany’s snooping laws are extremely worrying).

New Labour were pragmatic, they won the 1997 election as David Dimbleby in one of his more lucid moments reflected, because of providing something real and not bluster unlike the Tories at the time.


Given its mainly been the French trying to enforce their will on others in the EU...
As for snooping laws... ha.
In time I expect the introduction of same sex marriage will be remembered, but David Cameron's role in getting it passed may be forgotten.
Whatever else happens in this thread, we mustn't forget John Major's Cones Hotline.
Reply 11
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TJ1997
18
Another one.

Cameron was vehemently opposed by his own party for this, but kept to the commitment of 0.7% going towards international aid.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by TJ1997
Another one.

Cameron was vehemently opposed in his own party for this, but kept to his commitment of 0.7% going towards international aid.

He's been complaining on Twitter about Boris merging the DFID with the FO, presumably as a preamble to cutting it.
Reply 13
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TJ1997
18
Original post by Fullofsurprises
He's been complaining on Twitter about Boris merging the DFID with the FO, presumably as a preamble to cutting it.

Yeah I saw that. Merging the DFID with the FO (or at least reducing DFID's contributions) has been a strong idea since May became PM.

It's only with the hefty majority now I think Boris has gone ahead and done it, but I seem to recall it being in the Tories' 2019 manifesto..

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