Queen’s Speech

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, I shall refer to the Olympic Games, not in detail, but to raise the themes that Britain should present in the London Games. We all know that these Games are an excuse, as they are for every country, for dwelling on national qualities and achievements. We ought now, as there is plenty of time, to reflect on the achievements that we should emphasise, and the themes that the Mayor, Minister or whoever should dwell on in London in 2012. First, this is an important thing to reflect upon. After all, the Baron de Coubertin, the initiator of the modern Olympic Games, was a tremendous Anglophile. There is a moving passage in his autobiography discussing how he went to Rugby Chapel and sat in front of the tomb of Dr Thomas Arnold, whom he conceived of as the inspiration for the British sense of fair play and, indeed, the Games. To mention this is not, therefore, altogether irrelevant. The mayor, the Minister or whoever it is should raise five questions, perhaps in this order. First, he should emphasise Britain’s greatest achievement: our literature, particularly our poetry. I once had the pleasure of sitting next to the mayor of Oaxaca in Mexico, who showed me the speech that he was planning to make at the end of lunch. It began, ““We in Mexico think of Britain, first, because of John Milton and, secondly, because of Portland cement””. There is no doubt that John Milton and other great poets have been the ambassadors of this country’s cultural pre-eminence for many years. I do not know quite how a mayor or a Minister will emphasise that cultural contribution, but it should be done. Secondly, there is our role as a democracy. For perhaps two centuries, our parliamentary life was a brilliant political work of art, beginning, let us say, in the middle of the 18th century, stretching on until—well, perhaps it would be inappropriate to give a final date. Marvellous debates were held during many generations. They have inspired not only those concerned, but those reading about them afterwards. I was only recently reading how, after the first big debate on the abolition of the slave trade, Pitt’s speech in the early morning was so marvellous and striking that Fox, William Wyndham and somebody else, whose name I confess I have forgotten, walked across Parliament Square in the grey dawn and said that they had just heard one of the most astounding performances it had ever been their pleasure to listen to. There have been many such occasions, and perhaps there will be more in future. Britain’s third contribution to international culture and civilisation is of course that of the scientific and industrial revolution. Matthew Boulton was mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Baker, in his admirable speech this afternoon. There is no doubt that many of the visitors to the London Olympic Games will know about Britain’s contribution in this area. It is not easy to distinguish where scientific and industrial contribution ends, but the names are well known to us all; from Newton to Faraday, from Watt to Matthew Boulton and Arkwright. Speaking as the son of someone who spent his life in the colonial service—indeed, my mother was in the colonial nursing service—I believe that Britain’s fourth contribution was imperial. We should not, at the Olympic Games or on other occasions, feel ashamed of our sovereign achievement in constructing the Empire. I have made a note of the number of ex-imperial countries that will be present at the Olympic Games: 53, at least. That is a substantial percentage of the 200 that will be there. The British imperial contribution was not simply a matter of presiding over the slave trade, as some of our critics believe. On the contrary, the British achievement was associated intimately with the abolition of the slave trade, as Nelson Mandela had the sense of historical accuracy to point out in his magnificent speech a few years ago in Westminster Hall. These things, and others, should be emphasised in our contribution to the Olympics. The Olympic flame that we shall see in London should be encouraged to burn in their honour.