Oxford Students Debate Fighting for "Queen and Country" - Young Tariq Ali Interview (1965)

On 19 May 1965, ITN's Gerald Seymour reported from Oxford University as its debating society prepared to debate the motion that "this house would not fight for Queen and country". The motion, proposed by Oxford Union President Tariq Ali, sought to revive the debate first held in the prestigious university's debating chamber in February 1933. Then, students had adopted an identical motion (though replacing word "Queen" with "King") by a count of 275 votes in favour to 153 against. In the years after the Second World War, commentators argued that European fascists had been emboldened by the Oxford Union's 1933 motion. Ali's decision to propose the same motion in 1960s Britain courted plenty of controversy: university staff resigned and members of the public sent hate mail and white feathers. Amidst the furore, Seymour spoke to students in favour and against, as well as some of the people who took part in the original 1933 debate.

#OxfordUniversity #Oxford #Politics #Patriotism #Pacifism #UKPolitics #1960s #Debate

To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/search/...

To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage...

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) -    / @itnarchive  
🎥 Follow us on Twitter -   / itnarchive  
🎥 Like us on Facebook -   / itnarchiveitnp  
🎥 Check out our TikTok -   / itnarchive1955