Falklands referendum...

[max_tranmere]

It is certain they will vote to remain British, but that won't stop the Argentinians from still having a claim on the place. What I find strange is that the Falklands are 300 miles from Argentina, and if that is the reason for them thinking they should have ownership of islands, then does that mean everything within 300 miles of Britain should be British? Of course not, so it is a rather daft argument.

A couple of things regarding the war 31 years ago. The former Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan said after Thatcher was booted out of office in 1990 that the Falklands War was 'completely unnecessary, cost a lot of lives, and I'm very censorious about it still'. Thatcher's arch-enemy Michael Heseltine said on the BBC's Question Time a couple of years ago that she wasn't keen to send troops to expel the Argentinians originally but she was ganged up on by the Right of the party who insisted upon it.

Both of these things I recall from memory, I saw them being said on TV at the time. One thing that is certain about the Falklands War is that it was, and is, the last time Britain will ever go to war over one of its sovereign territories. The war was so expensive that it was said they could have given each citizen of the islands over ?1 million each and it would still have been cheaper than having the war. It happened though, and it saved Margaret Thatcher's political career.

Back to the referendum though. The pro-British contingent on the islands, which is almost everyone, will win the day. The Argentinians will still claim the place though, for ever more, so this issue won't be going away anytime soon.

[Arginald Valleywater]

I am sure the Royal Navy could sink another Belgrano as a polite way of telling them to Fuck Off. Maybe we could start a media campaign to take over some prime real estate in Buenos Aires??

[tommy dickfingers]

It was the chief of the defence staff sandy woodward who convinced maggie thatcher that we could and more importantly SHOULD retake the islands because if we didn't then we might as well pack up go home and never leave these islands again! retaking the islands was not guaranteed the distance and the weather were against us it could have gone badly wrong,if we hadn't been able to retake them then she would have lost the next election only cynical left wingers would suggest that she would take that kind of risk just to win a election.

[planeterotica]

Argentina became a Republic in 1853 and as the Falklands were British long before that date how can the argies lay a claim to them...

[JamesW]

planeterotica wrote:

> Argentina became a Republic in 1853 and as the Falklands were
> British long before that date how can the argies lay a claim to
> them...


Because they don't agree that the Falklands were British long before that date.

[max_tranmere]

It's interesting how that has resonated ever since and probably will for ever more. The whole saga was very sad, the Argentinian army was a conscript army and many of the soldiers had been forced to join up and were very young too. The bodies of those who went down with the Belgrano were never recovered as far as I'm aware.

[max_tranmere]

I wasn't aware it was Sandy Woodward who convinced her, for years I thought she was keen from the start and then when Heseltine said the right-wing of the party forced her to do it my view of the reasons why she took the decision changed. I have never held the view that she did it to advance herself politically, or to win the subsequent (1983) election, but having won the war and seeing her poll ratings rise she took advantage of it. The Tories were deeply unpopular mid-term during the 1979-1983 parliament. I think they were in third or fourth place a few times. She called an election after 4 years, she called one after 5 years during the next parliament (in 1987). The election likely happened a year earlier than could, and probably would, have been because of the Falklands bounce.

[max_tranmere]

I am surprised they don't claim part of Chile too, that country doesn't just border them to the west but to the south also.

[max_tranmere]

I guess there is no such thing as objective history, people put their own spin on the thing when writing it.

[tommy dickfingers]

sandy woodwards view was that we couldn't let Argentina get away with such an aggressive act and be seen as a soft touch in the world,that anyone can think they can do this kind of thing and think we will sit back and accept it.