Harold Macmillan Faces Pressure to Resign in Rare Interview (1963)

Ajouté : 2026-05-12

[00:00:01]Mr. McMillan, I'd like to put you the one question that's uppermost in everyone's mind. Do you intend to give up the premiership in the near future?

[00:00:09]Well, I don't suppose you'd expect to get an absolutely clear answer to that today. The government and got a good deal of work to do before facing the electors again. As regards my own position, I'll be perfectly frank. I've been 40 years almost in the House of Commons. I've been 6 and a half years prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party.

[00:00:31]My only object is to do what is right for the government and the party. But I will not act either with panic or with obstinacy. I shall try to do what's right.

[00:00:42]>> I don't think anyone is accusing you of panic, Prime Minister, but do you intend to carry on till the end of this year?

[00:00:48]>> Well, again, you must not expect me to answer the questions. It wouldn't be right for me to answer them because under our constitution, the first I am the Queen's first minister. The first person who I would ever inform would be, of course, the Queen.

[00:01:02]>> Can I try to press you a stage further?

[00:01:04]Do you still hold to what you told the Conservative backbenches on April the 10th that you hope to lead the party into the next general election?

[00:01:12]>> Yes. I said, "All being well, if I keep my health and strength, I hope to lead the party into the election."

[00:01:20]But do you think you can hold it hold enough support from conservative MPs?

[00:01:26]>> Well, it seems to be growing every day.

[00:01:27]I see the Gallup polls going up again.

[00:01:29]It's a very you these things come and go. But of course, I must have the support of the party and I think I have it. But I will, I say, do what I think's best for the party. I'll leave it at that.

[00:01:41]>> This may sound a slightly academic question, but I'd like to put it to you.

[00:01:45]It has been argued that when you do go in due course, you should be succeeded by a younger or indeed a much younger colleague. Do you agree with that?

[00:01:53]>> When I look around the pictures and buss I brought from number 10 to Admiral House, there pit prime ministered 25 held it for 19 years.

[00:02:07]That was a great young man. Churchill not prime minister till he was 65.

[00:02:15]Israeli not really till he was nearly 70.

[00:02:19]Youth depends very much on how you feel.

[00:02:23]But isn't there a general political point here, Prime Minister, that since President Kennedy emerged, the idea has grown that young men of 45 or 46 do have electoral advantages over old ones? And isn't this important for the Conservative party?

[00:02:37]>> Well, that's what I that's what's got to be judged. But this isn't really for me to say at this stage. All these things have to be taken into account. I will, as I say, do what I think is my duty to the country and to the party of which I am at present the leader. Can I turn now to what is in one way perhaps a related subject, and that's your talks with President Kennedy starting this weekend?

[00:02:59]First, what real hope do you have of a nuclear test ban with the Russians now?

[00:03:04]>> Well, of course, these talks, as you know, are not formal visit to the president like his pres visits to other countries.

[00:03:13]Now for ever since I've been prime minister and I think before I've every five or six months had an informal meeting with the president President Eisenhower and now with President Kennedy I think I've had them every four or five months and they're tremendously useful not negotiations they're discussions you get them a point of view in a few hours talk that it's rather hard to get by ambassadors however good or or documents however detailed I as you know care more about this than anything else in the world. I've striven hard for it. My visit to Moscow, the first summit meeting that went wrong, and I've been pressing for it. Now, as a result of correspondence which the president and I have had with Mr. Krushchev, we've at least got to this.

[00:03:56]We got it out of the long boring discussions of Geneva where it seemed to be stuck down with experts and we each to send emissaries who know our minds and hope to get perhaps in a few days conversation somewhere near where we could make a final agreement. If we could do that, it'd be a most wonderful thing for the world. not only for the importance of the test ban itself, but because it would be the first real agreement between East and West on which so many other agreements could easily follow.

[00:04:28]>> Now, reports suggest that the United States may be thinking twice about NATO's mixed nuclear fleet. Do you expect to give a clear line on British policy to the president?

[00:04:38]>> No. Nor would the president expect it.

[00:04:40]We'll talk that over further. These are all instruments.

[00:04:43]There are ways of trying to solve the problem of the European powers desire and proper desire to have an interest in the nuclear. At NASA, I made a great step forward on behalf of the British government which the House of Commons accepted. We agreed to put all our present bombers, immense most powerful force, and the nuclear submarines when we get them, the Polaris submarines, assign them to NATO. That was what was called the multilateral.

[00:05:13]of a great thing. We have of course the final absolute control which I think one must have interdependent and independent. Now this new idea is some way bringing the other European powers in. It has merits but it has great difficulties and I can't do more in the 24 hours the president will be staying with me than just talk over where we now are.

[00:05:36]>> It has been said and said repeatedly by Mr. Harold Wilson that because your government may be approaching the end of its term and your own position has been in some doubt, you can't speak fully for Britain in any international talks. Is this not a valid complaint?

[00:05:50]>> Well, my just will say that with the president. He's about a year off his time. I think Mr. Wilson a little apt to try the crown on early in his life.

[00:05:59]>> When will the next election be, Prime Minister?

[00:06:01]>> I won't tell you that either.

[00:06:03]>> Thank you, Mr. McMillan.