Lord Douglas Hurd - "The Ups and Downs in Foreign Affairs"
Mercers' Lecture 19th March

Dauntsey's School welcomed Lord Douglas Hurd on Friday 19th March.  Lord Hurd's visit began with a discussion with The Head Master’s Essay Society, which encompassed a varied selection of topics, including his role as Foreign Secretary, his relationships with the Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, with insights into his personal life and experiences.

That evening, Lord Hurd went on to address an audience of over 300 strong on the topic of ‘The Ups and Downs of Foreign Affairs’ for the Mercers’ Lecture. Lord Hurd started with the sensation of the last ministerial duel in British History, involving the highly contrasting and irreconcilable Castlereagh and Canning. He went on to give insights on Lord Aberdeen, Disraeli, Lord Salisbury, Anthony Eden, Sir Edward Grey and many others who are well known. Lord Hurd did not, however, just feature those who are remembered in the popular mindset: Austen Chamberlain, Ramsay MacDonald, and the much forgotten fifteenth Lord Derby were given coverage in this soul-searching review of 200 years of British foreign affairs. Lord Hurd carried the lessons from History into the future and raised big questions about the nature of our existing foreign relations given the emergence of China, India and Brazil on the international stage, and the decline and fall of the power of the English Speaking Peoples.

The School and local community thoroughly enjoyed the lecture by Lord Hurd and it eagerly awaits the next Mercers’ Lecture, to be given by Dame Anne Owers, DBE, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, on Wednesday, 12 May, 2010, entitled Can Prisons Work?

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