This Blessed Plot summary

In 1951, Churchill and his Conservative Party were voted back into government, but by now the message of European unity had been replaced by other priorities.

Indeed, it was Britain’s partnership with the United States that was taking precedence in British decision-making.

In January of 1957, the political fallout from the Suez Crisis led the Conservative Party to reshuffle its leadership and make Harold Macmillan the prime minister. Like Churchill, Macmillan, who clearly saw the benefits of a unified continent, had a history of pro-Europeanism.

This proved providential, because just two months after Macmillan’s appointment, the leaders of the ECSC signed the Treaty of Rome and gave birth to the European Economic Community (EEC).

On January 14, 1963, French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain’s bid to join the EEC. But why did he do such a thing? After all, excluding Luxembourg, the members of the EEC were furious at de Gaulle’s action.

Chances are, de Gaulle felt threatened by Britain, fearing that it might supplant France as the political leader of the EEC.

In light of Britain’s increasing economic struggles, it finally dawned on Wilson that best way to restore prosperity was to shift focus away from the Commonwealth and toward Europe.

So Wilson began a cautious campaign for British entry into the EEC.

Britain officially joined the EEC on January 1, 1973. A year later, however, the Labour Party was back in power, after having campaigned on a ticket that promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s entry.

Many of the Labour Party’s left-leaning members were strongly against the EEC altogether and viewed it as a threat to British workers.

In 1979, the reigns of the British government again changed hands, and this time the Conservative Party was being led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Another round of renegotiations were soon underway, as Thatcher was eager to lower Britain’s net contribution to the EEC.

After the declaration of a monetary union, Thatcher only intensified her anti-EEC attitude. This inflexibility eventually led to the party replacing her in 1990 with a more pro-EEC leader.

But then, in 1991, the Maastricht Treaty was signed into effect, giving others opposed to the EEC even more reason for concern.