Rethinking Britain and Europe. Plurality elections, party management and British policy on European integration

Abstract:

Britain historically has been ambivalent about the European Union from its birth to the growing pangs experienced today. This work seeks to explore that attitude and to identify underlying reasons for it, which the author sees as the necessity for political leaders to unite their parties around a single policy on Europe, and the impact upon voting outcomes arising from our current electoral system.

The book is organised over five chapters. The first chapter provides the historical context, presents the main argument and sets the overall framework within which the author’s narrow theory of party management is contained. Chapter two seeks to legitimise the theoretical argument within the academic literature. Chapter three explores the potency of electoral balance in determining the policy of government towards the EU and the need to manage party divisions on Europe in the years of membership, 1974 to the ERM. The years of the ‘Thatcher Conquest’ are a feature of chapter four which covers the period from Bruges to Nice. Chapter five looks at some alternative conclusions arising from the study, including commentary upon the electoral system and also offering some advice to party managers, whilst affirming that healthy ambivalence may have an honourable part to play in Britain’s approach to Europe.

The work will interest scholars students, researchers, policy makers and journalists engaged in politics and international relations.

Mark Aspinwall is Professor of Politics and Public Policy at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.