Tories Angry With Wilson
(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, September 18. The Prime Minister, Mr Harold Wilson, fresh from pacifying most of the Commonwealth critics of his Rhodesia policies, is braced for a major row at home with leaders of the Conservative Opposition Party.
He has rejected their demand that Parliament, due to reassemble on October* 18, be recalled within two weeks. They claim that Mr Wilson had made concessions to African, Asian and Caribbean pressures for strong action against breakaway Rhodesia which amount to a fnajor change in British policy. This is denied by Mr Wilson.
The temper of the Opposition was shown in a bitter speech by the Conservative leader, Mr Edward Heath, who accused Mr Wilson of “a further attempt to blackmail” Mr lan Smith, leader of the white minority regime which seized independence from Britain last November. Describing the new proposals, put by Mr Wilson to the recent Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ conference in London, as an ultimatum, he said its presentation was “the biggest of the psychological blunders” Mr Wilson had made in handling the Rhodesia crisis. Reaction Awaited The big question facing Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth is the reaction of the Smith regime to Mr Wilson’s tough “last chance" plan, approved by the 22nation Commonwealth conference at its critical 10-day meeting which ended on Thursday night. This warns Mr Smith that unless he hands over the powers he seized last November to the Governor, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, Britain would be ready to join in sponsoring a move in the
United Nations before the end of this year for compulsory selective sanctions against Rhodesia. The present sanctions are voluntary and “leaks” have enabled the Smith regime to survive their impact. Coupled with this is the threat that if Mr Smith does not act soon to restore legal government, Britain will with-
draw all previous offers for a constitutional settlement and withold independence until there is African majority rule. Opposition leaders have no doubt that Mr Smith will reject this. Informed Commonwealth sources take the same view.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31168, 19 September 1966, Page 17
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341Tories Angry With Wilson Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31168, 19 September 1966, Page 17
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