November 9: The gratitude of the nation

AS THE clocks struck 11am yesterday and the nation fell silent to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of our country, it again served as a reminder of the special bond between the people of Britain and the Armed Forces.

In the year that the Queen became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, she led the nation’s commemoration of Remembrance Sunday with all the dignity and solemnity that epitomises her people’s view of this most poignant of public ceremonies.

When she first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph as monarch, in 1952, veterans of the Great War were plentiful, and those of the Second World War, only seven years over, were in the prime of their lives.

Now there are no survivors of 1914-18, and the ranks of those who served from 1939-45 thin with each passing week. Yet Remembrance Sunday continues to hold a special place in the nation’s heart, and is ever more widely observed, as is Armistice Day.

The number of poppies produced by the Royal British Legion in response to the public’s desire to wear them has increased steadily in recent years.

This year, 40 million were on sale, and the proceeds will produce much-needed help for veterans old and young.

For we must never forget that Remembrance Sunday is not only about conflicts of the distant past. The sacrifice and bravery of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq have done much to bring home to the public that remembrance is also about our own times.

The bond between Britain’s people and the Armed Forces is a unique blend of respect, admiration, affection and gratitude.

No other service is held in quite the same regard, but then no other service is asked to give so much. Yesterday, a grateful nation gave its thanks in return.

Forging ahead

Deal could safeguard jobs

THERE is an understandable degree of disquiet at the possibility of Sheffield Forgemasters taking a substantial investment from an arm of the Chinese state.

Implications for Forgemasters’ role in producing key components for Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent cannot be dismissed lightly, and will need to be weighed carefully by the Government if the deal comes to fruition.

And it will not be lost on either the Government or the public that there is a bitter irony in the fact that one of the key difficulties faced by Forgemasters and the rest of the beleaguered steel industry is the dumping of cheap steel from China into international markets.

Yet, a pragmatic view must be taken of any deal. There are 760 jobs potentially under threat at Forgemasters, a business with an £80m turnover, and with them the long tradition of steelmaking in Sheffield.

If South Yorkshire is not to suffer the same calamitous loss of steelmaking jobs as has been seen in Scunthorpe, Redcar and Lanarkshire, then as Forgemasters chief executive Graham Honeyman asserts, new investment to secure a long-term future is vital.

That objective 
must be pursued as vigorously as possible, 
for the sake of Sheffield and the Forgemasters workforce.

The Government has been explicit in its aim of strengthening trade links with China, and the deals of recent weeks must be taken as the dawn of a mutually beneficial relationship.

If Forgemasters can benefit from this new era of co-operation between Britain and China, that is to be welcomed.

EU negotiation

Cameron ups the pressure

DAVID Cameron’s declaration that he is ready to rethink his commitment to the EU if it turns a “deaf ear” to his call for reform is a timely intervention.

Thus far, the Prime Minister has taken an eminently reasonable approach to his negotiations, seeking to persuade rather than bludgeon, and there is evidence that this has paid dividends, notably in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement that she is willing to accommodate Britain.

But Mr Cameron is right to ratchet up the pressure by reminding his fellow leaders that Britain will not be fobbed off in its desire for reform, and that if the electorate remains unconvinced of the EU’s willingness to change, there is a real possibility of it voting to leave in next year’s referendum.

Turning the screw in pursuit of the best deal for Britain, whilst also continuing to persuade, is a shrewd move by Mr Cameron.