Overview

Harold Wilson's direction of the second British application to join the EEC is ripe for reinterpretation. During the period of Wilson's first Labour administrations, October 1964-April 1966 and April 1966-June 1970, executive policy-making in Britain became legendary for its supposed opaqueness and intrigue. They are remebered not least for the volume of scandal and in-fighting among a talented but reckless group of ministers, numbering among them a ""Machiavellian"" Prime Minister in Wilson, a ""drunken neurotic"" in George Brown, and the highly influential and vocal diarists Tony Benn, Barbara Castle and Richard Crossman. On top of all this, the 1960s saw a plethora of domestic and foreign-policy crises. There remains a fundmental question to be answered: why did Wilson, faced with massive political problems following the April 1966 election, apply to join the EEC while de Gaulle remained dominant in Paris and there was no sign that his position on British ""readiness"" to enter Europe had changed? This has vexed historians of the Wilson years. Some have attempted to explain the bid in terms of the premier's Machiavellian cunning. Others have explained the application in the context of Wilson's obsessions with domestic popularity. Yet more put the bid down to a desperate attempt to stave off potential leadership contests from ""Europeans"" in the cabinet. With new and revealing material now available in the Public Record Office and abroad, this volume reconsiders Wilson's motivations, contextualizing them in light of evidence on foreign policy-making contained in the offical record.

Full Product Details

Author:   Oliver J. Daddow
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.630kg
ISBN:  

9780714652221

ISBN 10:   0714652229
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   30 September 2002
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Historiography of Wilson's Attempt to Take Britain into the EEC, Oliver J. Daddow; Part I The Domestic Context; Chapter 2 The Labour Party, Public Opinion and 'the Second Try' in 1967, Anne Deighton; Chapter 3 The Conservatives and the Wilson Application, Philip Lynch; Chapter 4 Gone Native: The Foreign Office and Harold Wilson's Policy Towards the EEC, 1964–67, Helen Parr; Chapter 5 Technological Cooperation in Wilson's Strategy for EEC Entry, John W. Young; Chapter 6 The Confederation of British Industry and European Integration in the 1960s, Neil Rollings; Part II The External Context; Chapter 7 A Short-Term Defeat: The Community Institutions and the Second British Application to Join the EEC, N. Piers Ludlow; Chapter 8 John Bull v. Marianne, Round Two: Anglo-French Relations and Britain's Second EEC Membership Bid, Anthony Adamthwaite; Chapter 9 Dealing with de Gaulle: Anglo-American Relations, NATO and the Second Application, James Ellison; Chapter 10 From Imperial Power to Regional Powers: Commonwealth Crises and the Second Application, Philip Alexander; Chapter 11 'We Too Mean Business': Germany and the Second British Application to the EEC, 1966–67, Katharina Böhmer; Chapter 12 Ireland and Britain's Second Application to Join the EEC, Jane Toomey; Chapter 13 Conclusion: The Ironies of 'Successful Failure', Peter Catterall;

Reviews

Author Information

Oliver J. Daddow

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions