Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill traveled to Fulton, Missouri, where he met President Harry S. Truman and delivered one of the most memorable speeches of the twentieth century.
At Westminster College, on March 5, 1946, Churchill uttered this famous line, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
Although Churchill’s speech has come to be known mostly for coining the phrase “iron curtain,” it also gave birth to an even more significant expression: the “special relationship.”
According to Churchill, “a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States” exists predicated upon “the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”
According to Churchill, “a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States” exists predicated upon “the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”
“Freedom of speech and thought should reign,” he added. “Courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. Here are the title deeds of freedom which should lie in every cottage home. Here is the message of the British and American peoples to mankind.”
Nearly 80 years later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom matters more than ever before.
In the decades since the iron curtain was lifted across Eastern Europe, a new threat to freedom has arisen.
The current peril comes from places like Germany, France, and other Western European nations that have embraced climate alarmism, unfettered illegal immigration, nanny-state welfarism, and globalism over national sovereignty.
For several years, Western European countries have sought to rewrite the global word order based on their misguided belief that fossil fuels are an existential threat to humanity.
Meanwhile, many of these nations, including the United Kingdom, have enacted policies to chill free speech and undermine free thinking. Perhaps worst of all, many of these so-called enlightened nations have ignored the will of the people as they have moved forward with plans and procedures like Net Zero, which put many of their citizens’ livelihoods in jeopardy and decrease their living standards.
For a long time, the United Kingdom was forced to follow these foolish policies simply because Britain was a member of the European Union.
However, in 2016, the United Kingdom voted in favor of “Brexit.”
That same year, the American people shocked the world when they elected a businessman with no experience in government to become the leader of the free world.
That same year, the American people shocked the world when they elected a businessman with no experience in government to become the leader of the free world.
Today, the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is closer than ever. As I write this, President Donald Trump is making history as the first president of the United States to receive two official state visits to what he calls “a very special place.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration forged the crucial United States-United Kingdom Economic Prosperity Deal.
Trump rightly understands that the United States and United Kingdom have a multi-century history of reciprocal trade. In fact, after the United States defeated King George’s red coats in the Revolutionary War, trade between the upstart colonies and the Crown increased as the years went on.
More importantly, the United States and United Kingdom, as Churchill pointed out, have a shared political culture based upon freedom of speech, association, and several other fundamental liberties that do not exist in many other nations.
Unfortunately, the United Kingdom has been derelict in recent years when it comes to defending those precious freedoms. Today, freedom of speech is under threat in Great Britain and several other Western European nations.
This does not necessarily mean that all is lost and that the United Kingdom is on the cusp of becoming a shell of its former self.
On the contrary, I am optimistic to see the British people demanding free speech. A few days ago, more than 100,000 Brits peacefully protested the assassination of Charlie Kirk and their government’s policy of imprisoning those who violate so-called “hate speech” laws.
Moreover, it sure seems like Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party are on shaky ground.
UK Reform Party Leader Nigel Farage, an outspoken advocate for free speech and a vocal opponent of illegal immigration, globalism, and climate alarmism, looks destined to become the next prime minister.
If Farage and the Reform Party do come to power soon, it would be a boon for all Britons. It would also be a benefit to the United States and the free world in general.
Since the end of World War II, the special relationship between the United States and United Kingdom has made the world a better place.
If the forces of good are to defeat the forces of evil, which is not set in stone by any means, the special relationship must remain sacrosanct.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.