- This situation has arisen very largely, in our view, from the mistaken policies of the National Government which I and my friends have strongly criticized in the past. I withdraw nothing personally of what I have said in criticism.... but we are facing a tragic situation, and I do not therefore, in this time of crisis, propose to rake over the embers of the days that are behind us. While we cannot forget the policies of the past, it is clear now that our eyes must peer very closely into the immediate future
This speech is important in that it shows the degree of seriousness by which the Labour Party took the crisis. While criticizing the National Government for previous errors, Greenwood focused his speech on what should be done in the future, on the widespread unity that existed in England for taking a strong stand against futher acts of Hitlerian aggression.
A week later, [On September 1] Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. Instead of sending an ultimatum, the National Government sent something similar to a request asking that Germany cease invading Poland, which the Germans completely ignored. By the next day, when [Prime Minister] Neville Chamberlain spoke in the House of Commons, many had expected to learn that Britain was at war. Instead, Chamberlain rambled on over whether a four-Power conference, akin to Munich, could be called. He even went so far as to suggest:
If the German Government should agree to withdraw their forces then H.M. [His Majesty's] Government would be willing to regard the position as being the same as it was before German forces crossed Polish frontiers. That is to say, the way would be open to discussion... on the understanding that the settlement arrived at would be one that safeguarded the vital interests of Poland and was secured by an international guarantee.
[2]
When he sat down, the House sat in silence, with many Conservative Party MPs aghast, and according to Hugh Dalton [a prominent Labour MP], "red-faced and almost speechless with fury." [3] As Greenwood rose to reply for Labour, Leo Amery, a prominent Tory critic of Appeasement, cried out "Arthur, Speak for England!!," a line which has become one of the most remembered in parliamentary history. Greenwood began:
