Britain and the EU: In or Out?

Foreword

Britain has always been a stranger in Europe. The question now is whether estrangement will lead to divorce.

By undertaking to put EU membership to a referendum by the end of 2017, David Cameron has opened the possibility that Britain may quit an organisation that has been vital to its political and economic life for four decades. Opinion polls suggest that if a vote were held today a majority would vote for exit, even though the prime minister has said he would campaign for continued membership – on renegotiated terms – with all his “heart and soul”.

When Britain first held a referendum in 1975 on whether to remain in the then European Economic Community, 67 per cent voted in favour. It seemed as though the agonising question of Britain’s ...