Ronald Reagan became the first US president to address both houses of parliament on June 8 1982. His Westminster speech created a stir at the time. It marked the start of the evolution of the Reagan doctrine, his approach to foreign affairs that sought to support freedom and roll back Communist aggression.
The UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was determined to grant Reagan the rare honour of addressing British parliamentarians at Westminster. Her political opponents were not so keen. For Labour leader Michael Foot, Reagan’s conservative policies made him too divisive a figure to speak. But the speech went ahead and Reagan later wrote in his memoirs that it was one of his most important.
