Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

“I beg to move, that this House welcomes the formation of a Government representing the united and inflexible resolve of the nation to prosecute the war with Germany to a victorious conclusion.”

In the opening two paragraphs of the speech, Churchill speaks with the formalized language of the British Parliament, using the set phrases “I beg to move,” and “that this house” to put forward his proposal according to the prescribed etiquette of the House of Commons. He also summarizes the primary content of his speech by outlining the motion and raises the key themes of The Importance of National Unity and War as a Necessary Evil.

“On Friday evening last I received His Majesty’s commission to form a new Administration. It is the evident wish and will of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and that it should include all parties, both those who supported the late Government and also the parties of the Opposition.”

Churchill’s phrasing here implies that he has been thrust into the role of prime minister by the will of the King and the country without any self-interested desire on his part. He claims that it is on the “wish and will” of both Parliament and the people that his coalition government has been formed. The effect is a suggestion that there is already a universal consensus on these matters.

“A War Cabinet has been formed of five Members, representing, with the Opposition Liberals, the unity of the nation. The three party Leaders have agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in high executive office. The three Fighting Services have been filled.”

Churchill again emphasizes the Importance of National Unity and lists his actions in rapid succession so that the litany builds up a sense of urgency and conveys how swiftly events are developing—encouraging a swift and positive resolution to the motion. The War Cabinet he mentions is a small committee formed by a wartime government in order to enable efficient and effective decision making while conducting the business of war.