首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Britain, under a Labour government, considered ditching (giving up) its nuclear deterrent as a way of making crucial savings to
Britain, under a Labour government, considered ditching (giving up) its nuclear deterrent as a way of making crucial savings to
admin
2011-03-10
39
问题
Britain, under a Labour government, considered ditching (giving up) its nuclear deterrent as a way of making crucial savings to help pave the way for an International Monetary Fund-backed rescue package during the sterling crisis of 1976, according to previously secret documents.
The crisis at the highest level of government and the British lobbying of international allies for assistance are revealed in Whitehall papers released to the National Archives, under the 30-year rule, covering the months after James Callaghan became prime minister in April 1976. he succeeded Harold Wilson who made his resignation announcement on March 16 after grappling unsuccessfully for months with an economic crisis.
The papers reveal the extent of the panic in 1976 as Britain was forced to go to the IMF to bail out the economy. The crisis was a defining moment, destroying confidence in Labour’s economic competency and paving the way for Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power.
The cabinet agreed to request a £2.3bn loan, then the biggest the IMF had made, and demanded massive spending cuts.
A memo by Sir John Hunt, the cabinet secretary, on December 5 warned there would have to be a review of defence spending.
He explained that withdrawing from Germany would be strongly resisted by the US while "abandoning the deterrent or at least scrapping its improvement would cause much less concern to our allies".
The threat to ditch the nuclear deterrent came after months of discussions and protracted cabinet haggling over departmental cost-cutting. The severity of the country’s problems was spelt out on April 5, two days after Callaghan took office, in a stark report from Sir John. It said the world had been through the most serious boom and slump and the worst inflation since the war as a result of the oil crisis.
"The going is likely to be rough indeed.., we are sailing in an unknown sea.., there is a serious imbalance in our economy.., unless action is taken there will be either a continuation of an unacceptably high level of unemployment or a balance of payments deficit which will be beyond our ability to finance," Sir John warned.
The ensuing months saw sterling slide further, forcing the abandonment of the Labour programme of 1974, and the acceptance that the nation could no longer spend its way out of a recession, in spite of strong political resistance. Towards the end of September, Callaghan told the Trades Union Congress conference that things would never be the same again.
He then rang Gerald Ford, then US president, whom he regarded as an inevitable broker of an IMF deal. A briefing note prepared for Callaghan ahead of the conversation underlined Britain’s precarious poison as well as the threat to international stability; "This week I have resisted pressure at the party conference... But I cannot be sure of continuing to do this if our policies are undermined by pressure on the pound which we do not have the resources to resist. In that case our value and partner in the western community would be put gravely at risk." In his conversation. Callaghan spelt out further the political tightrope he was walking, trying to fight off the left of his party while reaching an agreement with the international community.
In a letter, Callaghan warned Ford that without a solution to the sterling crisis "we would be forced into action which would put at risk this country’s contribution as an ally and a partner in the western alliance and its value as a member of the international trading community".
Separately, Callaghan set about lobbying Helmut Schmidt, the German chancellor, asking for a loan facility, led by the US and Germany. In November, he called Schmidt, telling him he was going to go for an IMF deal. This is an extract of the conversation.
Callaghan: ’Tm going ahead with this. We either conquer or we die.,"
Schmidt: "... I have told our mutual friend on the other side that in my view the whole situation comes very near to a Churchillian situation in 1940. I am quite convinced that you would act with the same amount of vigour. I have no doubt about it."
While Schmidt was privately sympathetic by the end of 1976 no safety net had been agreed by Germany and the US.
A month later, the British government considered Sir John Hunt’s advice to scrap the nuclear deterrent, amid protracted cabinet haggling over cost-cutting. The cuts turned out to be less than forecast, an IMF deal was brokered--and Britain’ remained a nuclear power into a new century.
Sir John Hunt advised to abandon the nuclear deterrent ______.
选项
A、in order to save money for the rescue package from the International Monetary Fund
B、because the U. S. did want Britain to became a neuclear power
C、because there was no other way to cut cost
D、because Britain did not want to withdraw its army appointed in Germany
答案
A
解析
此题为细节题。在原文的第五至第七段可以找到相关答案,“there would have to be a review of defence spending”,“The threat to ditch the nuclear deterrent came after months of discussions and protracted cabinet haggling over departmental cost-cutting.”,所以可以判断A为正解,亨特爵士建议放弃核威慑,以节省国际货币基金组织救市计划的一笔钱。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/FTYO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
WhenthefirstwhitemanarrivedinSamoa,theyfoundblindmen,whocouldseewellenoughtode-scribethingsindetailjustb
Since1971theCanadiangovernmenthasadoptedpolicyof______,recognizingthatculturalpluralismwithinabilingualframewor
WhenIappearedbeforeyouonapreviousoccasion,IhadseennothingofAmericanartsavetheDoriccolumnsandCorinthianchim
ManyAdecadeago,atatimewhenplaceslikeIvoryCoastandEquatorialGuineawerebeinglargelyignoredbythepetroleumworl
Summeriswindingdown,butit’sstillnottoolatetoputthetopdownandhittheroad.Forthoseofuswhocan’tspringfora
TessoftheDurbervilleswaswrittenby______.
Man,sothetruismgoes,livesincreasinglyinaman-madeenvironment.Thisplacesaspecialburdenonhumanimmaturity,forit
Mentalhealthprofessionalmaybesurprisedtodiscoverhowmuchishappeningonlinetodayinthehealthcarefield.Workingclos
______arethebasicelementarysentencesofthelanguage,thestufffromwhichallelseismade.
随机试题
铣床加工精度为IT9~IT7,表面粗糙度Ra能达到()。
甲公司是一家机械加工企业,产品生产需要某种材料,年需求量为720吨(一年按360天计算)。该公司材料采购实行供应商招标制度,年初选定供应商并确定材料价格,供应商根据甲公司指令发货,运输费由甲公司承担。目前有两个供应商方案可供选择,相关资料如下:方
对一些不够理智、不时冲动的游客,导游应采取的办法是进行劝导。()
股市波动信息对一些投资者来说价值连城,对另外一些投资者来说却毫无意义,这体现了()。
根据所给资料,回答下列问题。2014年,某自主创新示范区输出境内的技术合同总数为11456项,技术合同成交额为211.92亿元,分别占全市输出境内的47.55%和49.66%。该示范区输出境内合同中,上述五类技术领域的输出境内合同总数约占:
甲、乙两个科室各有4名职员,且都是男女各半。现从两个科室中选出4人参加培训,要求女职员比重不得低于一半,且每个科室至少选1人。问有多少种不同的选法?()
根据以下资料,回答下列小题。2012年,国家旅游局旅游业管理与服务支出约为住房改革支出的()倍。
Writeshortnoteson:(a)Realproperty.(b)Personalproperty.
RestrictingtheproblemofThirdWorldcountriestohungeralone—althoughnotallpeoplewholiveinpovertyarepermanentlysta
Culturaltendenciesimpactthewaychildrenparticipateineducation.Therearedifferentexpectationsabout"normal"schoolb
最新回复
(
0
)