Maiden speech in the House of Lords on the miners' strike (13 November 1984), "Great Parliamentary Speeches" CD
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It breaks my heart to see (I can't interfere or do anything at my age) what is happening in our country today – this terrible strike of the best men in the world, who beat the Kaiser's army and beat Hitler's army, and never gave in. Pointless, endless. We can't afford that kind of thing. And then this growing division which the noble Lord who has just spoken mentioned, of a comparatively prosperous south, and an ailing north and midlands. That can't go on.

— Maiden on Harold Macmillan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It breaks my heart to see (I can't interfere or do anything at my age) what is happening in our country today – this terrible strike of the best men in the world, who beat the Kaiser's army and beat Hitler's army, and never gave in. Pointless, endless. We can't afford that kind of thing. And then this growing division which the noble Lord who has just spoken mentioned, of a comparatively prosperous south, and an ailing north and midlands. That can't go on." in the context of "Maiden speech in the House of Lords on the miners' strike (13 November 1984), "Great Parliamentary Speeches" CD" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Harold Macmillan" (Quotes, Later life) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Maiden

About Maiden

A maiden or maid is a female virgin or, more broadly, merely an unmarried young woman or girl. Related terms include damsel and wench.