The Battle of London by Frédéric Bastien

Author:Frédéric Bastien
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2014-09-23T21:00:00+00:00

A Source Named Deep Throat

This political barrage didn’t have the expected effect, as the Alberta agent general in Great Britain, James McKibben, learned a few days later. He was the one who’d managed to infiltrate Thatcher’s inner circle after having converted Ian Gow, her parliamentary secretary, to the provinces’ cause.

Gow had been one of the first to lend his support to Thatcher during the palace coup that had given her the party’s mantle in 1975. Enjoying her trust, always on the same ideological wavelength, always by her side, acting as confidant, counsellor, major-domo, guide, baggage handler, and private secretary, he exercised great influence over the prime minister.

Gow was well-positioned to measure the extent of dissatisfaction caused by the patriation issue among backbenchers. This is why he spoke to James McKibben, whom he regularly met in seamy restaurants and other disreputable joints, most often late in the evening so their illicit contact might remain secret. When McKibben wrote his reports back to Edmonton, he gave Gow the codename Deep Throat. No one knew his identity in the Albertan capital.

Two weeks after the premiers’ conference in Montreal, McKibben and Gow met up to take stock of the situation. The numerous documents and letters that the provinces had been sending to British MPs had begun to get on the nerves of a number of people, Gow informed him.[4] Moreover, he went on, the Iron Lady hadn’t changed her mind and would present the constitutional request in the House when she received it. She’d take some time before doing so, however, since she feared complications if she rushed ahead, notably in terms of potential repercussions on the Commonwealth.

Deep Throat then described the opposition Labour Party’s current approach to patriation. The problem stemmed from the fact that McKibben and his colleagues’ lobbying efforts had been expended mostly on the Conservatives, he stated. Little effort had been made among Labour MPs, who were ideologically closer to the federal Liberals. The result was, inevitably, that the provinces were having trouble convincing the left.

The meeting ended on that note, and McKibben quickly understood the wisdom of Gow’s advice. He bumped into Denis Healey, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, not long after. As soon as he saw him, the latter turned his back and walked away, declaring as he left, “You are a conservative and I do not pay attention to conservatives.”

The Albertan was stupefied.[5]

Fortunately, there was good news on other fronts. At the end of February, during a new strategy meeting that brought together the ministers responsible for the constitutional dossier, the rebellious provinces officially welcomed two new additions to their camp. Claude Morin, host of the meeting being held in Montreal, wasn’t just half-proud to announce that Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia had joined the rebel side. He saw in this a sign that public opinion had begun to turn against the federal government. “There is an increased awareness across Canada that the federal Government has lied to everyone and the British have realized they are being asked to put their finger between the bark and the tree,”[6] he declared.

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