BRITAIN AND EUROPE 1973-2020 • • METHOD 1

TE-H Method 1 docs

Stage 1 - Introduction: presenting the documents
Similarities: Both documents wonder if joining the European Economic Community was a consensus -between the Conservative and Labour parties when the UK joined the EEC (1961-1975) (facts).
Differences: The 1st document is an article by Sam Wilson describing the UK-EU stormy relations and posted on BBC News website on 1 April 2014. The 2nd document is a photo showing The Anti Common Market League campaign for the 1975 referendum.
Give structure: In a 1st part I’ll analyse how the UK joined the EEC thanks to the article & in a 2nd part I’ll show that it stayed in the EC using the photo.

Stage 2 - Analysing the documents

DESCRIBING - What you see (docs)
 INTERPRETING - What you know (notions)
1. Joining the EEC thanks to article

P1 The refusal. UK refused to join both the ECSC and the EEC
P2 The 2 unsuccessful applications. The UK changed its mind due to EC economic prosperity and power BUT entry vetoed by France as hostile to EC & friend to the USA
P3 The 3rd successful application. The UK entered the EEC: good for UK eco interests and national identity

- For free trade and eco liberalism (defs) but against loss of sovereignties (defs)
- UK ≠ integration (def) & strong sense of national identity: insularity (def), 1961 application by Harold Macmillan Tory PM & 1967 by Harold Wilson Labour PM (facts)
- EEC seen as a confederation (def), Europhile, as Pompidou replaced De Gaulle and UK cancelled CW preference, it joined EEC on 1st January 1973
2. Staying in the EEC with photo


Background: the opposition Labour & Tory members on a stage at a rally speaking against staying in the EEC
Foreground: theirs demands signs ≠ Common market (eco) & gvt from Brussels (pol).

Eurosceptic (def) feared federation, supranational superstate (defs), petitoned the QSueen, a symbol of unity in troubled times (2E Politics) and bizarrely against free trade (def)
However UK stayed in the EEC thanks to the 1975 referendum by new Labour PM Harold Wilson. Results : 65,5 % stay (business, newspapers, majority of both parties) > 35.5% leave (facts)

Stage 3 - Concluding
Assess docs: To conclude, these documents are reliable as we have their full references and both unbiased as they describes the facts, what actually happened.
Sum-up ideas: These docs show the British political consensus between the Conservative and Labour prties to apply, join and stay in the EEC with only political extremes contesting the decision.
Open: We may wonder how the relationship between the UK & Europe evolved when Margaret Thatcher -the Iron Lady, became PM or With the 1975 referendum Britain decided to stay in Europe, what about the 2016 referendum?