The first modern history of the 1975 European referendum, ranging across 1970s Britain to assess why voters said 'Yes to Europe'.

Provides an analysis of the relationship between the UK and the EU, treating the key overarching issues in the 1975 referendum and looking ahead to the prospect (eventually) of further referendums on the subjects of EMU and a European constitution.

Although the United Kingdom’s entry to the European Community (EC) in 1973 was initially celebrated, by the end of the first year the mood in the UK had changed from ‘hope to uncertainty’. When Edward Heath lost the 1974 General Election, Harold Wilson returned to No. 10 promising a fundamental renegotiation and referendum on EC membership. By the end of the first year of membership, 67% of voters had said ‘yes’ to Europe in the UK’s first-ever national referendum. Examining the relationship between diplomacy and domestic debate, this book explores the continuities between the European policies pursued by Heath and Wilson in this period. Despite the majority vote in favour of maintaining membership, Lindsay Aqui argues that this majority was underpinned by a degree of uncertainty and that ultimately, neither Heath nor Wilson managed to transform the UK’s relationship with the EC in the ways they had hoped possible.

This book studies the unprecedented decision of 23 June 2016, which saw the UK electorate vote to leave the EU, turning David Cameron’s referendum gamble into a great miscalculation. It analyzes the renegotiation that preceded the vote, before examining the campaign itself so as to understand why the government’s strategy for winning foundered. It then evaluates the implications that this decision has for the country’s international relations as well as for its domestic politics. The author’s final reflections are on the political philosophy of Brexit, which is founded on a critique of representative democracy. Yet the use of direct democracy to trigger EU withdrawal leaves the supposedly sovereign British people at an impasse. For it is up to the people’s representatives to negotiate the terms of Brexit. By engaging with a highly charged political debate in an accessible and non-partisan manner this book will appeal to a broad readership of academics, policy-makers, journalists, and interested citizens.

In June 2016, the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. As this book reveals, the historic vote for Brexit marked the culmination of trends in domestic politics and in the UK's relationship with the EU that have been building over many years. Drawing on a wealth of survey evidence collected over more than ten years, this book explains why most people decided to ignore much of the national and international community and vote for Brexit. Drawing on past research on voting in major referendums in Europe and elsewhere, a team of leading academic experts analyse changes in the UK's party system that were catalysts for the referendum vote, including the rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the dynamics of public opinion during an unforgettable and divisive referendum campaign, the factors that influenced how people voted and the likely economic and political impact of this historic decision.

This handbook provides an empirically rich analysis of referendums in Europe from the end of the Second World War to the present. It addresses a range of perennial theoretical and legal questions that face policy-makers when they offer citizens the chance to take or influence decisions by referendum, not least whether to accept the ‘will of the people’. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on historical, philosophical and political science perspectives, the book includes a contextual section on the history of referendums, the theoretical questions underpinning their use, and on constitutional and legal questions about the use of referendums. The empirical sections are divided into those referendums that focus on domestic issues, such as constitutional matters or questions of social policy, and those related to the European Union, including membership referendums and treaty ratification.

These books provide an analysis of the past, current, and future relationship between the UK and the EU, treating the key overarching issues in the 1975 referendum and looking ahead to the prospect of further referendums on the subjects of EMU and a European constitution.

While the discussions among Brexiters mainly focus on the referendum of 2016 or David Cameron’s “great miscalculation” and its repercussions, this book looks at the Brexit as a process that began decades earlier. It analyses EU-UK relations from a new perspective, taking into consideration the historical background, political aspects, and legal and economic matters. The book provides a holistic understanding of the Brexit, approaching the referendum and its outcomes as the culmination of a long process rather than an isolated political event crafted within the corridors of Westminster or Downing Street 10. Accordingly, it addresses a range of thematic issues, historical patterns of political and economic behavior both within and beyond the United Kingdom, and possible future effects on relations between the Union and one of its most important members.

Entry into the European Community in 1973 was a momentous event - with seismic consequences for the politics and constitution of Britain. Discussion of Brexit, equally momentous, has been confined almost wholly to looking at the economic consequences of Britain's withdrawal from Europe. But what will happen to the constitution? Beyond Brexit looks for the first time at the impact of Brexit on our constitution - on Parliament, on the courts, on individual rights and, above all, on the question of whether the United Kingdom can be held together. Vernon Bogdanor explores the ever-changing relationship between Britain and the European Union from the original concept of European unity after 1945 to 21st-century Euroscepticism and our exit from the European Union, and explains what the future holds for our system of government and our constitution.

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.