Britain and the European Union

This chapter considers Britain’s relationship with the European Union (EU) after it joined, which has seen the country labelled ‘reluctant Europeans’. It also considers the role of empire and decolonisation in the early days of European integration that shaped Britain’s decision to remain outside the new European bloc. The British Empire was part of the wider project of European colonialism. Britain’s opposition to supranational decision-making and commitment to national sovereignty can be understood in terms of British exceptionalism, which has dominated British thinking. Public opinion has shown that public salience of the EU has remained low, meaning that British people did not consider the question of EU membership a high priority. Conservative Party Euroscepticism was, however, strongly influenced by Powellism, which advanced a populist and racialised idea of English nationhood. Labour Party divisions over the European Economic Community /EU have their roots in deeper ideological divisions over globalisation and economic nationalism.