Lecture notes Politics of the EU (POLI6110) European Union Politics Brexit
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Course
European Union Politics And Policy (POLI6110)
Institution
The University Of Kent (UKC)
Book
European Union Politics
The document is a PDF file that provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the UK's relationship with the European Union. It covers key events and decisions that have shaped this partnership, from the formation of the European Economic Community to the Brexit referendum. The document is in...
Michelle Cini and Nieves Perez-Solorzano Borragan - Brexit
23 June 2016: referendum on EU membership ⇒ 52% for Brexit after 43 years
I. The UK in Europe after 1945
1950s: 6 West European states agreed to coordinate first their coal and steel industries and later
other economic sectors to form a European Community
1958 : EEC = European Economic Community
⇒ The British government had been invited to participate but declined ⇒ Concerns on British
sovereignty
BUT by the end of the 1950s: the UK’s position changed ⇒ bc the British economy was stagnant
AND the Suez crisis had ended the view of the UK as a pre-eminent world power
1961 = the UK government applied to join the EEC in 1961
French president Charles de Gaulle vetoed UK membership twice = in 1963 and 1967
De Gaulle left office in 1969 ⇒ negotiations finally proceeded led by pro-European Conservative
Prime Minister Edward Heath
UK joined the EEC on 1 January 1973
BUT the ‘anti-marketeers’, opposed to EEC membership, argued that the UK conceded too much
Opposition Labour Party leader : Harold Wilson ⇒ if he was elected in 1974, wanted to negoniciate
the UK’s EEC deal and hold a referendum about membership
The referendum took place in June 1975 about if the UK should leave the EEC ⇒ 67% supported
membership ⇒ all political parties supported staying in the EEC (except the Communist party)
BUT Wilson’s renegotiation did not include the UK’s contribution to the European budget
⇒ tension through the 1970s ⇒ ↗ when Margaret Thatcher became PM
Thatcher = supportive of a plan to create a Single Market (would benefit the UK’s economy)
European issue = downfall of Thatcher
Her successor: John Mayor ⇒ struggled to negotiate the Maastricht Treaty
He gained opt-outs: on Euro membership and social policy BUT opposition of backbenchers ⇒
came close to bringing down the government in 1993
After electoral defeats in 1983 and 1987: Labour party began pro-European
, Tony Blair: in office from 1997 ⇒ Improvement with EU relations: first Blair government negotiated
important with France on defense cooperation
Blair = for the Euro BUT the Chancellor Gordon Brown against + public opinion unsupportive
United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) = emerged 1980s but had 1st electoral success in
2000s ⇒ lead position in the 2014 European Parliament election
Cameron: reputation of soft Eurosceptic: did not want Europe to dominate his government
Cameron supported legislation (the 2011 European Union Act) to prevent Parliament from
agreeing on any major future treaty reform without first holding a referendum: REFERENDUM
LOCK
October 2011 and 2012: rebellions over a proposed bill setting out plans for an EU referendum,
then on an EU budget deal
2013: ‘Bloomberg’ Speech: Cameron acknowledged:
● the gap between the EU and its citizens / the need to address this democratic
accountability
● gave an assurance that developments in the eurozone would not prejudice those outside
the single currency
● proposed a limit to welfare incentives encouraging EU citizens to seek work in Britain
● the need to maintain competitiveness, jobs, growth, innovation, success
⇒ announced referendum end 2017
Key points
● Although there was initially little enthusiasm in the UK, by the early 1960s, the economic
rationale for joining the EEC had become more convincing. The UK joined in 1973.
● A post-membership referendum in 1975 resulted in 67% of the electorate voting to stay
in the Community.
● The UK supported European initiatives where they were perceived to be in the national
interest.
● The European issue in the UK remained contentious.
● After 2010, the PM addressed the rise of UKIP and ongoing backbench hostility to the EU
by calling a referendum on membership of the Union.
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