The UK and the EU- Alex Hanson

Following World War Two, and especially by the mid 1950s, it was becoming clear that Great Britain no longer had the means to uphold its overseas empire. With the collapse of the Commonwealth, Britain needed to find new markets, and with the failure of the European Free Trade Agreement, it turned to the fledgling European Economic Community. Though French President Charles De Gaulle originally blocked Great Britain’s entrance, by 1972 they gained admittance. Judt characterizes Britain’s relationship with the European community, which begins with the EEC and continues through the European Union, as one of positives and negatives, and I would argue more positives than negatives. Great Britain gained much from its participation in the European community: a common market, subsidies and wealth reallocation for poorer regions, uninhibited travel, and seeming protection from another European war. It also helped reestablish and redirect Great Britain, which following the Suez Canal debacle was entering into an identity crisis. However, the United Kingdom’s increasing ties to Europe received much opposition. For much of its history Britain has followed a very different path than Europe. Separated by the English Channel, Britain was spared from much of the violence and upheaval that shaped the European continent during modern times. These differences made many British citizens wary of uniting with Europe. The opposition criticized the disproportionate amount the UK paid (Margaret Thatcher did likewise), and how what started off as a purely economic arrangement expanded into many different areas. Tony Wright expresses what, to many, was the greatest objection to Britain’s membership in the European Union, “by giving primacy to European law over domestic law… the old doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty was effectively blown out of the water” (25). Although Britain did have to cede some of its sovereignty to the EU, it was by no means as if they were powerless to legislate their own country. Some of England’s greatest constitutional reforms, such as the Human Rights Act, came during this time. Perhaps the greatest argument for joining the European Union is what would have happen to Britain if they had not done so. What would have happened to the lost Great Britain of the mid 1950s, searching for new markets and a new direction, if it had not joined with Europe?