Britain applied to join the EEC in 1961 and in 1967, but both attempts were vetoed by French President Charles De Gaulle. Britain applied for a third time in 1971 (once De Gaulle had stepped down) and was made a formal member on 1st January 1973 (Bentley, 2006, p225).
In 1973 the opposition Labour Party contained many eurosceptic MP’s. After Britain was rejected by the EEC in 1967 the Labour Party (who were in power at the time) adopted a policy of opposition to Europe and pledged to introduce ‘fundamental renegotiation of terms of entry’ during the election campaign of February 1974. Labour formed a minority government after that election, but would later gain an overall majority in October that same year. James Callaghan renegotiated Britain’s membership to the EEC although not all were convinced of its merits. In June 1975 Britain held a referendum on EU maintaining EU membership and Prime Minister Harold Wilson waived collective responsibility within his Labour Party due to the controversial nature of the vote. The results of the referendum were not controversial however, and came out 2:1 in favour of membership with a 64% turnout (Watts. 2005, p30).
Despite the ’75 referendum result, eurosceptic fears that Britain was moving towards joining a supranational power would remain right up until today. Indeed, modern eurosceptic’s would point to the Single European Act 1986 (when the EEC became the European Union or EU) as the first attempt to create a European super-state. Margaret Thatcher signed the Act believing it was a means for a freer and less bureaucratic market, but other European leaders saw it a step towards unifying economic policy and creating a single European currency (Bentley, 2006, p227).
Various Acts passed in the last 25 years have handed more power to Europe and the European Union has become the supranational body which it was feared amongst eurosceptics that it would one day become. We can see just how big it has become by looking at the institutions within it.
British Citizens elect 78 representatives from Great Britain to the European Parliament and the other 27 European states will do the same. In total, 785 MEP’s will sit in Parliament and will be responsible for scrutinizing the European Commission’s proposals. The European Commission is the executive arm of the EU and consists of 27 commissioners (one from each member state) and the commission’s president (Heywood, 2008, p310). The commissioners are appointed by the European Council who are comprised of senior executives from all member states of the Union, The union will decide the overall position and direction of the E.U. Any part of the union which moves to bring in a new law or standard must do so in line with the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As the power of Europe supersedes that of an individual member nation, the ECJ is a very powerful and influential organisation. It consists of 27 judges (again, one from each member state) and eight advocate generals who advise the court (ibid, p310).
The ECJ provides an excellent example of the EU’s impact in the British constitution and its impact on sovereignty. Britain doesn’t have a full written constitution, so when an amendment is proposed to British law it is debated with out a real benchmark for what is and is not allowed. Former MP Tony Wright describes Britain’s constitution as a “political shed crammed full of objects collected over a political lifetime. Nobody is quite sure what still works, or whether something has superseded by another, even as more have been added” (Wright, 2003, p18).
“Sovereignty is the key concept in all constitutions” (Heywood, 2008, p173). Sovereignty is the key to legal and political power and in the UK that power sat exclusively with Westminster until it ascension to the EU.
When Britain joined the EU in 1973 it agreed to abide by the agreements set in the treaty of Rome 1957. In 1991 the ECJ overruled parts of the UK’s Merchant Shipping Act 1988 as it clashed with provisions created by the Rome treaty (Heywood, 2008, p176). In this instance we can see that decisions taken and laws made in Europe supersede that of the British Parliament. For many, this was proof that Sovereignty had been given away to the EU.
Every treaty passed by the EU will affect Britain in some way. MP’s will debate the pros and cons of any treaty passed in Parliament and after the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) was passed, member states had a greater degree of flexibility and opt-out powers (Bentley, 2006, p232). The Maastricht Treaty (1993) set out the EU’s plans to create a single European currency. This proposal was not warmly received in the UK and strongly opposed by the Conservative party. The prospect of a single currency was seen by the sceptics as a nail in the coffin of British sovereignty, should it be adopted. As a result Prime Minister John Major had to negotiate an opt-out clause for Britain (ibid, p230).
EU membership has effected and will affect in the future how successive British Governments conduct their business. Some will see Europe as a constant threat to sovereignty where as others will point to the gains of EU membership. The EU has become such a huge institution that even if Britain was not a member the EU would have a serious affect on its trade and dealings; therefore it is prudent for the UK to be a member. A eurosceptic will be keen to tell you that it is not right that a French or Dutch judge can decide how laws that govern the UK through the ECJ, yet a Europhile will point to the fact that any law passed by the ECJ would have been influenced and shaped by British representatives in Europe (Leech, 2006, p281).
A common analogy of how the EU could influence Britain is its highway code. Should the EU decide that the all 27 EU states should drive on the left side of the road then Britain would need to change its motoring laws accordingly. A Eurosceptic would argue that it wasn’t the business of anyone outside of Britain what side of the road we drive on, and they should not have the right to do so. A Europhile however would be keen to point out that this may not necessarily be a bad thing and there would be logic behind the decision in the first place, and that should such a law be passed it would need to be supported by Britain’s representatives in Europe first and foremost and even if they were unconvinced of its merits the treaty of Amsterdam (1997) gives states the flexibility to opt-out or amend European legislation to their own satisfaction.
It is my view that Britain has not yet lost any sovereignty of note by being a member of the EU. Tony Benn said that “in practice political sovereignty has long rested with the executive” ( – accessed 12/01/11) and this is an opinion I share. In Britain we can still follow our own defence policy, education policy, welfare policy and healthcare policy. Our economic policy remains predominately our own as a result of not joining the Euro. The trade we gain or the money we lose as a result of EU membership is commonly debated. The UK Independence Party would have Britain leave Europe and negotiate a trade agreement similar to the Swiss model, but the Liberal Democrats would have Britain move closer to Europe to build influence and start to shape not just Britain but Europe the way they would like. The Conservative and Labour parties have moved their positions many times since the mid 70’s and tend to follow the more populist anti-Europe stance when in opposition.
The creation of the European super-state is undoubtedly a possibility in the future, but it will only happen with the blessings of the people who would live in it, and in the UK the early indications are that they would not.
Bibliography
Bentley, Paul – British Politics in Focus (4th edition) – 2006 – Causeway Press Ltd
Heywood, Andrew – Essentials of UK Politics - 2008 – Palgrave McMillan
Leech, Robert – British Politics – 2006 – Palgrave McMillan
Watts, Duncan – Britain in the European Union today – 2005 – Manchester University Press
Wright, Tony – British Politics (A very short introduction) – 2003 – Oxford University Press
Internet Sources
.co.uk - http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:Impact_of_the_EU_on_British_Politics