CNB George Cobuc.

Grade 12 The Making of Modern Britain, 1970-2018

British Foreign Policy, 1970-79

The UK had become the dominant world power during the nineteenth century, with a global empire
upon which the sun never set . The twentieth century, however, was a period of economic, military
and imperial decline. This was particularly apparent after the Second World War: decolonisation
reduced Britain to a medium-ranking power in a world dominated by the United States and the
Soviet Union. With the loss of empire, Britain struggled to define its role in global affairs, but by the
1970s British foreign policy had come to be based on two pillars: its special relationship with the
United States and its membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).

The Special Relationship with the United States

The history of Britains relationship with the United States is more complicated than is often
realised. The United States origins as the thirteen rebellious British colonies created both mutual
bonds and mutual suspicions. The mutual bonds resided in close trading links, migratory patterns,
familial connexions and language; while mutual suspicions were informed by territorial and imperial
disputes in the Americas and the USAs general hostility to colonialism and empire. Britains
relationship with the United States was strengthened by the latters entry into the First World War in
1917 though Woodrow Wilson was apparently annoyed by the British suggestion that the British
and Americans were cousins. It was during the Second World War, though, that the special
relationship was really forged as the United States and Britain fought as allies in both Europe and
Asia and it was Winston Churchill (whose mother was an American) who popularised the term.

Yet if British politicians imagined the special relationship as a relationship of equals, the postwar
world soon disabused them of that. Although Britain and the United States cooperated closely on
many issues, the US was the dominant partner, for example in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (Nato), established in 1949 to contain Soviet communism. Britains pretensions to be a
independent global power were ended by the Suez Crisis in 1956. The Suez Canal was of enormous
geo-political and economic importance to the UK. When Egypt seized control of the canal in 1956
by nationalising the Suez Canal Company Britain, along with Israel and France, invaded. The
Americans quickly made their displeasure known and behind the scenes brought diplomatic and
financial pressure to bear on the British. The Suez Crisis ended in humiliation for the British and
French. But whereas France drew the lesson that they needed Europe as a counterweight to the
United States, the UK decided that the Atlantic Alliance and therefore the special relationship with
the US needed to be the cornerstone of its foreign policy.

Being close to the United States did not mean that Britain was subservient to it though this was
frequently an accusation made by opponents of British foreign policy. For example, Britain was
willing to give no more than moral support to the US in its war in Vietnam. And during the Yom
Kippur War in 1973 Heath refused permission to the US to use Nato airbases in the UK to airlift
supplies to Israel. Nevertheless, Britain was wedded to the US through the Atlantic Alliance. This was
particularly true of Wilson and Callaghan, both of whom were Atlanticists rather than Europhiles.
But even Heath, an arch-Europhile, was also committed to the special relationship. The extent of the
UKs dependence on the US, though, is probably best illustrated by the issue of nuclear weapons.

During the Second World War the US and the UK cooperated in the development of nuclear
technology. The US ended this cooperation in 1946, forcing the British to develop their own nuclear
CNB George Cobuc. Grade 12 The Making of Modern Britain, 1970-2018

weapons the so-called nuclear deterrent. By the early 1950s Britain had succeeded in becoming
the third nuclear power after the United States and the Soviet Union. The British, however, faced a
number of problems, above all with regard to the financial costs of the nuclear deterrent. The
solution was for Britain to purchase the delivery systems and missiles from the United States
though the actual warheads would be British. Hence, in 1962 the UK negotiated the purchase of
Polaris missiles from the US, which would be launched from British-built ballistic missile submarines.
These submarines came into service in 1968.

By the end of the 1970s a decision needed to be made on replacing Polaris. Although the Labour
Party was largely committed to nuclear disarmament, James Callaghan had private and secret
discussions in 1979 with Jimmy Carter, the US President, about purchasing the Trident missile
system. Callaghan then instructed civil servants to pass on the technical briefing notes to his
successor, Margaret Thatcher. This was in violation of protocol incoming governments are not
allowed to see the files of outgoing governments. But Callaghan was very much a patriot willing to
put what he considered was the national interest above the immediate interests of his party.
Thatcher would subsequently endorse the purchase of Trident from the United States

The European Economic Community (EEC)

Although the idea of European integration has a long history, the origins of what is now the
European Union was driven by the specific circumstances of post-Second World War western
Europe. At the heart of the matter was the German problem. It was generally accepted that the
economic recovery of western Europe was not possible without a strong West German economy; yet
a revived West German economy as a major coal, iron and steel producer would pose a renewed
military threat. In the end, the solution was the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC) in 1952 a supranational organisation responsible for overseeing the production of coal, iron
and steel in France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Such was the
success of the ECSC, that the Six negotiated the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which established the
European Economic Community (EEC) a supranational organisation committed to free trade and
ever closer union between its members. The British were not excluded from European integration
British governments chose to stand aloof, preferring to emphasise the importance of the
Commonwealth.

Yet by the end of the 1950s the British government had come to the conclusion that the UKs long-
term economic future required membership of the EEC. Britain therefore applied for membership in
1961 only for its application to be vetoed by President Charles de Gaulle of France. Although
Harold Wilson was a lukewarm European, he too concluded that membership of the EEC was in the
national interest another application was therefore made in 1967 and was again vetoed by de
Gaulle. However, de Gaulle resigned as president in 1969 and his successor, Georges Pompidou, was
much more sympathetic to the British. And in 1970 Edward Heath, an arch-Europhile, became prime
minister. Heath lodged a third application for membership in 1971; and on 1 January 1973 the UK,
along with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark, joined the EEC.

From the beginning, however, Britains proposed membership of the EEC was controversial; and it
divided both the Conservative and Labour parties. Conservative and Labour opponents had different
concerns, but both were worried by the question of sovereignty. That is, the transfer of some policy
CNB George Cobuc. Grade 12 The Making of Modern Britain, 1970-2018

areas away from the British parliament to the EECs supranational institutions. Passage of the
necessary legislation through the House of Commons was therefore not easy. The governments
motion in favour of the UK joining the EEC was passed comfortably by 356 votes to 255 but only
because 69 Labour MPs defied the party whip and voted with the government. Wilson, therefore,
had to use all his leadership skills to hold his party together as the necessary legislation made its way
through parliament. Wilson was able to straddle the divisions within the Labour Party by opposing
the European Communities Bill , but without completely shutting the door on British membership
instead he argued that the bill was disadvantageous to the UK and that if he were reelected as prime
minister he would renegotiate Britains terms of membership, following which he would call a
referendum. As a consequence of Labours opposition, the European Communities Bill was passed
by the House of Commons by a relatively small majority of 17, that is 301 votes to 284.

Wilson was returned to power in 1974 and duly made good on his promises. He renegotiated
Britains terms of membership of the EEC though in reality he achieved little of substance. A
referendum was then held on 5 June 1975 with the question: Do you think that the United Kingdom
should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)? Not only was this the first
nationwide referendum in British history, but Wilson also broke with convention by allowing cabinet
ministers to campaign against the official position of the government, namely that the UK should
stay in the EEC. The governments position the Yes campaign was supported by the
Conservative and Liberal parties as well as most business interests and most of the press. The No
campaign was headlined by mainly left-wing Labour opponents of the EEC, including many trade
unionists, as well as various Conservative Eurosceptics, the Scottish Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru
and the Ulster Unionist Party. The result was an overwhelming vote in favour of the UK remaining in
the EEC 67.2 per cent voted Yes and 32.5 per cent voted No. Moreover, all four constituent parts
of the UK England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voted Yes.

The leader of the Yes campaign, the Home Secretary Roy Jenkins (1920-2003), expressed the view
that the result of the referendum commits Britain to Europe; it commits us to playing an active,
constructive and enthusiatic role in it. The reality would prove to be more complex. Britain would be
an active member of the EEC, but it was far from being an enthusiatic member; and Britains ability
to be constructive on some issues was counterbalanced by its stubborn ability to take a negative
stance on other issues. Moreover, while the referendum result banished the idea of Britain leaving
the EEC to the political margins, criticism of the European project in general and the EEC in
particular quickly became mainstream. In short, Britains relationship with the EEC was to be nothing
other than fraught.

Questions
1. What is meant by Britains special relationship with the United States? Do you think the special
relationship was anything more than a British delusion in the 1970s?
2. Why did the UK join the EEC in 1973?
3. Imagine your were a voter in June 1975. Would you have voted Yes or No in the referendum on
the UKs membership of the EEC?