Introduction

Abstract

The debate about Britain and the European Union (EU) is about the past, present and future of British politics, about Britain’s place in the world and about national self-understandings. This book specifies the profound effects of membership on British politics and addresses the fundamental debate about Britain’s place and future in the EU. The book is not intended as a technical manual detailing the mechanics of British relations with the EU; rather, it focuses on why, how and with what effects the EU has become one of the most contentious issues in contemporary British politics. It shows that the ‘choice for Europe’ made by British political leaders in the 1960s and 1970s was essentially defensive and that Britain has moved into an outer tier, or what could be called the EU’s ‘slow lane’. Britain is outside both the eurozone and the Schengen passport-free travel arrangements. There are also strong calls from Conservatives within the coalition government that came to power in 2010 for further repatriation of powers from the EU, or even exit. Few British political leaders have embraced ‘the European project’, while opposition to European integration has remained a powerful political undertow in British politics.