Comments on: Churchill Red Herrings: On a Federal Europe and “Keep England White”

By: AM

AM — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 15:20:19 +0000

I wish to correct Mr Sherman's statement about Peter Griffiths's campaign in the Smethwick bye-election of 1964. The slogan "Keep Britain White" was in fact produced by the British Movement, led by Colin Jordan, a neo-Nazi organisation. A quick search of the slogan reveals that it was printed on flyers that refer to the "Tory Party" (which the Conservatives would never use on their literature). Years later in 1962, Colin Jordan co-founded the World Union of National Socialists At his wedding ceremony to Françoise Dior in 1963 he and his wife cut their fingers and mingled their blood over a copy of Mein Kampf. If you search for images of their wedding you'll see portraits of Hitler in the background. I should add though that Mr Griffiths did not condemn the slogan, instead saying: "I should think that is a manifestation of the popular feeling. I would not condemn anyone who said that. I would say that is how people see the situation in Smethwick. I fully understand the feelings of the people who say it. I would say it is exasperation, not fascism."

By: Richard M. Langworth

Richard M. Langworth — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 23:22:10 +0000

In reply to Herbert Sherman. Fair enough. Remarks or asides, off the record, which could have been either irony or lame attempts at humor, are impossible to interpret precisely. If you or I had our every word, or alleged word, recorded, interpreted or analyzed to the extent of Churchill, I daresay we would suffer by comparison. Churchill's racial epithets, as explain here, number in the handful, and the worst is not among them. Responsible opinion is welcome, but that particular word is not. My brief is Churchill, not Peter Griffiths, except to deplore such language, albeit nearly a decade after Churchill had retired. Many thanks.

By: Herbert Sherman

Herbert Sherman — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 12:11:23 +0000

Thank you for making these corrections. I'm in favour of history being revisited, but against things being attributed as quotes if they were not. I do think that your point of Churchill's view on "Keeping Britain White" is supposition in terms of how it was meant. As you have said Macmillan was a reliable diarist and there are many ways that the exclamation mark can be interpreted. You say "Ask yourself: Would any astute politician, even then, seriously propose “Keep England White” as a campaign slogan?" You have either forgotten or omitted thoughts of the later Smethwick election in 1964, when Conservative MP, Peter Griffiths worked under the campaign of 'If you want a [censored] for a neighbour, vote Labour.' Something that makes the Churchill attrition almost genteel. Many thanks