Live BBC radio coverage of Thatcher US Congress speech

Title

Live BBC radio coverage of Thatcher US Congress speech

Genre

News report; Speech; Special

TX Date

20 Feb 1985

Year of production

1985

Play audio

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Duration

00:44:05

Description

Live BBC radio coverage with Brian Barron commentary of Margaret Thatcher’s speech to a joint session of the US Congress, the first British Prime Minister to be so honoured since Winston Churchill. Thatcher speaks on the role of the new European alliance; need to maintain an armed deterrence against the Soviet Union; Britain’s support for President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or Star Wars project); importance of upcoming arms control negotiations in Geneva; trade with Third World countries; British and US economies; Britain meeting its responsibilities to the rest of the world; her work with Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald for peace in Northern Ireland, and US citizens being misled into contributing to the IRA terrorist cause (through NORAID fundraising). With Bob Friend reporting on the NORAID demonstration near Congress in protest at the visit.

Contributors

Margaret Thatcher; BBC; Brian Barron; Bob Friend

Keywords

USA; Political demonstrations; Internal politics; Margaret Thatcher; Northern Ireland; Terrorism; UK; Great Britain; Conservative Party; USSR; IRA; International relations; Fundraising; Prime ministers; Economic systems; Speeches; Nuclear weapons; Arms control; Peacebuilding; Defence policy; Europe; International trade; Developing countries; Ronald Reagan; East West relations; Strategic Defense Initiative; Garret FitzGerald; NORAID; Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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