During Mr Cameron's recent trip to the United States of America at the end of last month, hopes were high for what would be discussed. The events in the Gulf of Mexico involving BP had begun to put strain on the relationship between the UK and the USA. The constant emphasis placed on the word 'British' in British Petroleum was being considered as an affront to the United Kingdom. Here was 'Call Me Dave' flying over to give them what for. Many were optimistic that his intentions were to confront these bullying tactics and show us as not being the easy target of insult which the previous Labour Government instilled across the pond. Was Mr Cameron going to play Hugh Grant's character from Love Actually?
Of course not! In the same vein which all previous optimism has been dashed by prior Prime Ministers, so Cameron has continued that fine tradition. In an interview with Sky News, he stated that in 1940 Britain has been the 'junior partner' to the USA, and that still remained the case.
Perhaps here Mr Cameron was referring to the position of power and trade which separated our two nations. The UK had been at war since the beginning of 1939, and it is more than fair to say that our economic position was seriously undermined by the needs and circumstance of conflict. The collapse of France in 1940 along with the rest of Western Europe (except Spain and Portugal) placed considerable strain on the island to maintain the war effort in the face of isolation. Britain's main continental trading partners had been removed, and the ever dangerous German naval and U-boat presence made contact with the rest of the Empire very difficult. As such, our only available friendly nation who was relatively easily accessible was the United States.
Never the less, we were nowhere near being partners at this stage. The USA was continuing its policy of isolationism (despite President Roosevelt pushing for further involvement in helping the UK) which it had followed since the end of the First World War. It would be fair to conclude that 1940 was the year that Britain stood alone. David Milliband has corrected reminded us that this was our finest hour, when we won the Battle of Britain thanks to our brave RAF pilots from the UK and from occupied nations all over Europe. It was to the UK that the oppressed people of Europe turned to for safety and assurance that we would fight on. Any form of serious material support from the USA did not come until 1941 with the Lend-Lease Agreement in March, and their eventual full involvement in the conflict on the 11th of December 1941. At that point it would be a fair assessment to say that we were now partners, but do not call us junior. They may have suffered greater military casualties, but the cities and towns of Britain lost some 65-70 thousand people. It would also be fair to say that the involvement of the United States was total conflict on two vast fronts to the East and the West, while our involvement was for a time limited to North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic convoys. If we consider the losses suffered by the Americans in the Pacific theatre, we must respect the level of casualties they experienced and thank them for the sacrifice which so many families suffered with. Yet despite this there was no junior or senior partner. We were all in it together fighting for each other.
If you were to ask soldiers on the Normandy beaches, the jungles of Burma, or the frozen woodland of the Ardennes who was the senior/junior partner, they would tell you there were none. They were all just brothers in arms fighting for the same cause. Such notions of the 'junior partner' are foolishly dreamt up by politicians who wish to define roles. In times of war, no role should be belittled or underestimated. From the factory worker to the Chief of the Armed Forces, each and every person is a crucial gear which prevents complete failure. So you can call us the junior partner Mr Cameron if you wish, but remember that history will remember you as the 'junior partner' who dragged a nation down with that title. When you stand there Mr Cameron on Armistice Sunday remembering the British dead, bare in mind the 481 British pilots who lost their lives between July and October 1940, and wonder how you would tell them or their families that they were on the side of a junior partner. Perhaps the Mr Cameron you should consider how to break the news to all those brave men and boys who risked their lives to save 330,000 soldiers from Dunkirk under heavy air attacks that they were playing second string to an nation who was hardly involved...and I hope it makes you realise that you have let their memories down.
