Mikael Lith

On 30th October 1990, Margaret Thatcher gives her famous "No. No. No." speech, leading to Geoffrey Howe's resignation the next day, and which some say precipitated her downfall the next month. In the speech, Thatcher goes off script and outrightly rejects Britain's membership of any future arrangement for economic and monetary union with the European Community. Some saw this as the Prime Minister going against her own cabinet's joint position on the issue. For those long waiting to make their move to replace her as prime minister, "No. No. No." was not so much a shock as a cue. "Yes, the [European] Commission does want to increase its powers. Yes, it is a non-elected body and I do not want the Commission to increase its powers against this House. The President of the Commission said at a press conference the other day that he wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the Community, he wanted the Commission to be the Executive, and he wanted the Council of Ministers to be the Senate—No. No. No. Perhaps the Labour Party would give all those things up, easily. Perhaps they would agree to a single currency, to total abolition of the pound sterling. Perhaps being totally incompetent with monetary matters, they'd be only too delighted to hand over the full responsibility, as they did to the IMF. The fact is, they have no competence on money, no competence on the economy, so yes, the right honourable gentleman would be glad to hand it all over. What is the point in trying to get elected to Parliament only to hand over your sterling, and hand over the powers of this House to Europe?"