Safeguarding British Identity or Betraying It? The Role of British ‘Tradition’ in the Parliamentary Great Debate on EC Membership, October 1971

Abstract: This article will revisit the parliamentary debate in October 1971 which took Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC). It will show that both sides involved viewed the vote as a great matter of principle and invoked a number of British traditions in order to justify their stance.

Opponents of entry sought to portray EEC membership as endangering three great traditions: Cobdenite liberalism, British internationalism and the UK's ability to govern itself. Those on the other side of the argument rejected all three of these claims, viewing the choice for Europe as opting for an exciting future rather than clinging unrealistically to former glories, and claimed that they were acting in line with another central British tradition – that of being a country that mattered and had a say when crucial economic and political decisions were being made.