This volume describes the events from 1963 up until the British entry into the Common Market in 1975. It will be of interest to students of British political history, European Union politics, diplomatic history and international relations in general.

Volume III of The Official History of Britain and the European Community covers the divisions over Europe of the Labour Government (1975–79) and the controversies surrounding Britain’s relations with her EEC partners under Margaret Thatcher. As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this book is the story of the stresses, quarrels, compromises and ambitions which contributed to an unhappy relationship between the United Kingdom and her European partners. Immediately after the 1975 referendum, when the British people voted by a large majority to stay in the European Community, the divisions in the Labour Party over Europe, which had caused the referendum in the first place, resurfaced as if nothing had changed. They dogged the beleaguered Government of James Callaghan and contributed to the defeat of the Labour Party in the General Election of 1979. Margaret Thatcher proclaimed herself a pro-European Prime Minister but her premiership, too, was governed by a succession of crises in Britain’s relations with her partners as Thatcher fought to redress the unfair budget deal Britain had been forced to accept on accession, and then to secure her vision of a reformed, outward-looking, economically liberal Europe. This is also the story of personal relationships between Thatcher and the successive leaders of Germany, France and the United States. It is told through the contemporary accounts of the period, in the words, ideas and emotions of politicians and officials at the heart of Government. This work will be of much interest to students of British politics, European Union history, diplomacy and International Relations in general.

Volume III of The Official History of Britain and the European Community covers the divisions over Europe of the Labour Government (1975-79) and the controversies surrounding Britain's relations with her EEC partners under Margaret Thatcher. As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this book is the story of the stresses, quarrels, compromises and ambitions which contributed to an unhappy relationship between the United Kingdom and her European partners. Immediately after the 1975 referendum, when the British people voted by a large majority to stay in the European Community, the divisions in the Labour Party over Europe, which had caused the referendum in the first place, resurfaced as if nothing had changed. They dogged the beleaguered Government of James Callaghan and contributed to the defeat of the Labour Party in the General Election of 1979. Margaret Thatcher proclaimed herself a pro-European Prime Minister but her premiership, too, was governed by a succession of crises in Britain's relations with her partners as Thatcher fought to redress the unfair budget deal Britain had been forced to accept on accession, and then to secure her vision of a reformed, outward-looking, economically liberal Europe. This is also the story of personal relationships between Thatcher and the successive leaders of Germany, France and the United States. It is told through the contemporary accounts of the period, in the words, ideas and emotions of politicians and officials at the heart of Government. This work will be of much interest to students of British politics, European Union history, diplomacy and International Relations in general.

This volume describes the events from 1963 up until the British entry into the Common Market in 1975. It will be of interest to students of British political history, European Union politics, diplomatic history and international relations in general.

This textbook provides a comprehensive account of Britain’s uneasy relationship with continental Europe from 1918 to the present day. Unlike other books on the subject, the author considers 'Europe' in its broadest sense and examines a wider history than just Britain's relations with the European Union (EU). This includes pre-war history and the role of key political institutions outside the EU such as the Council of Europe and the Western European Union. Subjects covered include: how the experience of the inter-war years and the Second World War helped shape attitudes towards the EU european perspectives on Britain as well as the other way round key theories on European integration the changing nature of Britain's global role issues of sovereignty and legitimacy the role of political parties and the Europeanisation of national government the rise of Euroscepticism in British politics and how ‘Europe’ has become entwined in the ideological battles of the main political parties. Exploring the political, diplomatic and military relationship between Britain and Europe, this accessible and wide-ranging textbook is essential core reading for students of British and European history and politics.

The history of Britain's complex relationship with Europe, untangled Is Britain a part of Europe? The British have been ambivalent on this question since the Second World War, when the Western European nations sought to prevent the return of fascism by creating strong international ties throughout the Continent. Britain reluctantly joined the Common Market, the European Community, and ultimately the European Union, but its decades of membership never quite led it to accept a European orientation. In the view of the distinguished political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, the question of Britain’s relationship to Europe is rooted in “the prime conflict of our time,” the dispute between the competing faiths of liberalism and nationalism. This concise, expertly guided tour provides the essential background to the struggle over Brexit.