Enjeux socio-économiques contemporains

08/01/2024

Britain and its relationship with the European continent

Introduction
The problem of British integration into the European Union and problematic relationship with
Europe > To understand Britain’s socio-economic situation today.

I. The Historical Background

A. The original links

1. Prehistory

Some time ago Britain was not an island.

The British Isles were geographically connected with the European continent.
The “separation” took place in 8,000 BC but there was a proximity between Britain and the
continent (common elements, practices).

During the Bronze Age (3000-700 BC) there was a movement from the continent to the
British Isles.
The British population was made of a lot of different people due to the movement of tribes to
the isles.

The Celts

They were present in many places in Europe (even in Central Europe) particularly in
Switzerland. Then they decided to extend and come to the British Isles.

They were not a single people or nation but rather a collection of different peoples and
groups loosely tied by a similar language, religion (paganism) and culture.

Other Celtic peoples:

- The Picts: ancient tribe native to Scotland, a warrior race domination Northern
Scotland
- The Scotti: gave their name to Scotland, established a parallel kingdom
- The Britons: in south west Scotland to Cumbria

They dominated the existing tribes and population without violence because of their
superiority.
They kept many links with their original places so they had many ties between the British
Isles and the continent.

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They were the first tribes coming, but there were several other waves of immigration.

The Romans

In 122 AD, there was a new wave of migration. The Celts of Gaul faced a grown Roman
Empire in the British Isles because they had many commercial links (exports, imports…).

The Romans sold wine to the Celts in exchange for slaves.

After the initial conquest, the Romans faced some resistance from the Celts and so they
failed to colonize the British Isles.

The Hadrian’s Wall was created to protect the Romans from the Barbarians in the north.
This wall represented the northernmost extension of the Roman Empire.

There was a large influence of the Romans in the southern part of the Isles:
- Shift from oral to written tradition
- Clothing
- Language
The Romans had a written tradition (importance of the latin language for many times in many
places in Europe).
- Culture
- Economic integration (roads, economic links)

1. Who lived in Britain before the Romans?

[ ] The Anglo-Saxons
[ ] The Normans
[x] The Celts
[ ] The Vikings

2. Who was the first Roman to attempt to invade Britain in 55 BCE?

[ ] Claudius
[x] Caesar
[ ] Nero
[ ] Hadrian

Despite what many people think, Caesar was never Rome's Emperor - his adopted son
Augustus was the first Roman Emperor.

3. When did Claudius invade Britain?

[x] 43 CE
[ ] 43 BCE
[ ] 55 CE
[ ] 55 BCE

4. Who was the queen of the Iceni tribe that revolted against the Romans?
[ ] Caratacus
[x] Boudicca
[ ] Cartimandua

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[ ] Paulinus

5. What was the name of the people living in what later became Scotland?
[ ] Saxons
[x] Picts
[ ] Goths
[ ] Vandals

Scotland is named after the Scotti, another Celtic tribe who invaded from Ireland.

6. Who ordered the building of a wall between what is now England and Scotland?
[x] Hadrian
[ ] Nero
[ ] Claudius
[ ] Caesar

Some parts of the wall still stand today.

7. What did the Romans call York?

[x] Eboracum
[ ] Jorvik
[ ] Londinium
[ ] Aquae Sulis

Eboracum is thought to mean "place of the yew trees". Jorvik is what the Vikings called York,
Aquae Sulis was the Roman name for Bath and Londinium was London.

8. Which was NOT built by Romans?

[ ] Amphitheatres
[ ] Roads
[ ] Towns
[x] Castles

Romans preferred to live in villas with central heating and baths.

9. Who were the people trying to invade Roman Britain from the sea?
[ ] Huns
[ ] Vandals
[x] Saxons
[ ] Picts

The Saxons, together with the Angles and the Jutes, invaded after the Romans left Britain
and founded the country of England.

10. When did the Romans leave Britain?

[ ] 200 CE
[ ] 350CE
[x] 410 CE

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[ ] 1066 CE

In 410 the Britons asked the Roman Emperor for help to defend them from Anglo-Saxon
invaders, but he refused.

2. The Western Germanic Invasions

The new invaders were the Saxons, the Angles (from Germany) and the Jutes (from
Denmark), who were less civilized than the Romans and were struggling to dominate this
new place.

It led to a period of war and conflicts.

There was a gradual Saxon domination.

“The English race’ if such a thing exists, is German.”, J. Paxman
German kingdoms were created back then (Wessex, Sussex, Essex…).

These new tribes developed the old English and a societal link between old English and
German.

The opposition between the tribes led to the building of Offa’s dyke, meant to separate
Wales from the Germanic tribe.

Caledonia (Scotland) and Hibernia (Ireland) were names given by the Celts and were part of
the Celtic fringe.

The devolution, the granting of some powers by London to the periphery, led to the creation
of a National Assembly for Wales and a Scottish Parliament, both in 1997.
The first elections took place in 1999.

The Viking Invasions

From AD 800, there were Scandinavian attacks (Vikings) from the north, threatening the
Anglo-Saxons.
This was the name given by the people colonized, originally the “Northmen”.

Vikings meant “any sort of scandinavian pirate”.

They took large parts of Ireland, Scotland, England and especially Danelaw.

Jorvik was the most significant viking settlement.

There were many battles, however the growing power of the Anglo-Saxon in the kingdom of
York reabsorbed the vikings.

They had influence in some english words:

- Celtic: combe, crag, toponymy…
- Anglo-Saxon: Reading, Wigton, Birmingham.
son, daughter, field, friend, in, from, love, go,…

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There was an interplay between the continent and the British Isles that remained constant.
The Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings… contributed to the political unification of
England and the strengthening of the vernacular.

Harold was the last Saxon King in 1016.

The last invaders were the Normans.

3. The Norman and Plantagenet dynasties

The Middle Ages took place between the 5th and the 15th century.
“The two dates that are most commonly associated with the Middles Ages in the British Isles
are 1066 and 1485.” J. Black.

In 1066, William the Conqueror arrived on the British Isles.

This year was a watershed in the history of Britain.

The Norman Invasion

Normans were Scandinavians that invaded France during the Vikings invasions.

In France, they managed to sign a treaty between Rollo, the Viking leader and king Charles
III of West Francia.
These vikings were given a part of France, the Dunchy of Normandy.

Normans wanted more and decided to go to the British Isles and to extend and expand.

The Battle of Hastings

In 1066, Edward the Confessor died, and was replaced by Harold, after the battle against
William the Conqueror and the Normans managed to establish themselves in the British
Isles.

In December 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

His victory led to the “normanization” of the place.

Normanization

1) … of the Church and land:

1070 onwards: highest Church positions filled by Normans
Land possessions redistributed to the Norman elite

2) The “Domesday Book” (1086)

Land survey (taxation purposes)
1086: Anglo-Saxon aristocracy wiped out
Here are noted those holding land in Devonshire

3) … of the landscape

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“Motte and bailey”
Stone castles

4) Feudalism
Nobility (landowners) > Vassals (tenants)

5) Language and Culture

13th century: Triglossia
- Ask (English)
- Question (French)
- Interrogate (Latin)

The Norman influence was important on the British Isles, especially in England.
It led to the implementation of an Anglo-Norman cross-channel system and population.

Nowadays, there is the Norman Yoke, a Norman legacy (ex: Robin Hood).

15/01/2024

The Normans were cruel to the English.

They build lots of castles to control the place.

Robin Hood = symbol to the resistance of the Norman domination

Saxons came to be romanticized in British history compared to the Norman intruders.

England was involved in continental affairs.

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Some of these kings only spoke french. They also decided to take England into the
crusades.
In Robin Hood, the king has left for the crusade. Some of his representatives feel free to
oppress the people.

Crusades can be regarded as an ancestor of the common european force.

People collaborate, share their resources to defend the holy ground.

There were lots of weddings to create collaboration and links.

Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine, someone of Gaule. Thanks to this wedding, Henry II
(English king) ruled over half of France.
Nowadays, the region of Bordeaux still has links with Britain. There is a special link between
Liverpool and Bordeaux due to slaves.

The French kings of the time were not very happy about this English presence. They would
have liked to get rid of them.

William the Conqueror

There are tapisseries representing the battles of when William went to England.

Some territories were lost. Over the years Normandy was lost in 1204 by England and
France was becoming stronger.

The Hundred Years War (1337-1453)

Edward III had enemies on two fronts.

Normandy was previously lost to France in 1204 and Gascony was a bone of contention.

In 1337, Edward III claimed the French throne.

England at the time was a part of continental Europe.

Bordeaux and all the area around it fell to France and put an end to the war.
England went back to England and left no presence on the territory.

1. What happened to the Anglo Saxon leaders?

[ ] They went back to Germany
[x] They became kings
[ ] They were killed by the Romans
[ ] They became farmers

2. What did missionaries do?

[ ] Made weapons
[x] Introduced Christianity to the Anglo Saxons
[ ] Spied for the kings

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[ ] Told stories

3. Which kingdom defeated Northumbria in the 8th Century?

[ ] Wessex
[ ] Sussex
[x] Mercia
[ ] Kent

4. Who was Offa?

[x] King of Mercia
[ ] King of Northumbria
[ ] King of Wessex
[ ] King of East Anglia

5. What did Offa build to separate England and Wales?

[ ] Offa's Wall
[ ] Offa's Canal
[ ] Offa's Fence
[x] Offa's Dyke

6. Who began to raid England in the 8th Century?

[x] Vikings
[ ] Romans
[ ] Greeks
[ ] Normans

7. Who defeated the Vikings and became the King of England?

[ ] William the Conqueror
[x] Alfred the Great
[ ] Ethelred the Unready
[ ] Edward the Confessor

8. Who became King of England in 1016?

[x] Canute or Cnut the Great
[ ] Alfred
[ ] Harold
[ ] Ethelred

Canute was also king of Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden. He is most famous for the
story in which he commands the waves of the sea to turn back, which of course they don't.
This was to show his courtiers that human power is as nothing next to the power of God.

9. Which king was killed at the Battle of Hastings?

[ ] Canute
[ ] Edward
[x] Harold
[ ] William

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Harold: last Anglo-Saxon king of England

10. Who invaded England in 1066?

[ ] Vikings
[ ] Romans
[ ] Greeks
[x] Normans

William the Conqueror came from Normandy and made himself King of England.

B. The Schisms
1. The establishment of the Nation-State, the Break with Rome and the Protestant
Reformation

England had lost the Hundred Years War.

The Age of the Tudors (1485-1603)

Henry Tudor became the king in 1485 (the first Tudor king). English came to become the first
Nation-State of Europe (common national identity, common institutions).

In 1603, Elizabeth I died, the Virgin Queen.

The reign of Henry VII (1509-1547)

The first element that isolated England from the rest of the world was the reign of Henry VIII.
People were more and more disappointed with the Catholic Church (Priests and bishops
corrupted).

In 1517, Martin Luther launched in Europe the Protestant Reformation.

One of the tenets of Protestantism is the proximity between people and God.

England at the time was a catholic place.

Nevertheless, there was anticlericalism in England.

In 1533, there was the end of allegiance to the Catholic Church in Rome.
Henry VIII was in love with another woman and wanted to have sex with her. But she wanted
to have sex only after the marriage but Henry was already married.

He went to the pope because he wanted to divorce his first wife: Catherine of Aragon.
The pope refused and so Henry decided to cancel the marriage by saying that they did not
consume the wedding but a daughter had been born.
The pope refused again and then Henry decided to break with Rome and proclaim itself
head of the church.

In 1534: ‘Supreme Head’ of the Church (Act of Supremacy)

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 - Public support (parliament accepted the decision that the king is in charge of the
Church)
- More authority to the break with Rome
- Greater power for the Parliament

1533: Marriage with Anne Boleyn because able to divorce

> Birth of Elizabeth but he was disappointed because it was a girl and he killed Anne

Henry’s six wives:

1. Catherine of Aragon: Daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Eight
years before her marriage to Henry in 1509, she was in fact married to Henry’s older
brother.
2. Anne Boleyn: The pair married secretly in January 1533. By this time, Anne was
pregnant with her first child to Henry and by 1533; she was crowned Queen of
England.
3. Jane Seymour: She married Henry in 1535. She was never crowned because the
king wanted to make sure that she would give him a son before becoming a queen.
In October 1537, Henry became the father of Prince Edward but Jane took ill and
died two weeks after the birth.
4. Anne of Cleves: Henry sent a talented painter to Germany to paint portraits of the
Duke of Cleves’ daughters, Anne and Amelia. Anne’s portrait pleased him, and
arrangements were made for the pair to wed.
Seeing her in person, Henry took an instant dislike to Anne and, finding her ugly, referred to
her as “The Mare of Flanders”. They were married in 1540 but he annulled it a few weeks
later.
5. Kathryn Howard: They married in 1540, Henry was 49 years old and Kathryn a lively
teenager. Delighted with his new wife, Henry is said to have spoiled Kathryn with gifts
and called her his “rose without a thorn”. Two years into their marriage, she was
accused of being unfaithful and so she was beheaded.
6. Catherine Parr: They married in 1543. Henry died in 1547, leaving Catherine
widowed and free to marry her former love, Thomas Seymour.

Edward became the new king after Henry died, but Edward died very quickly too.
Mary became the king of England.

There was lots of religious tension because Mary (Bloody Mary) decided to persecute
protestant people.
In 1563, the Book of Martyrs was published by John Foxe on the suffering of persecuted
Protestants.

Mary was the queen for a short period of time.

Elizabeth I: The Last Tudor Monarch

She became the queen in 1558, after 25 years of religious turmoil:

- Henry VIII - Break with Rome
- Edward VI - Radical religious form
- Bloody Mary - Catholic counter-reformation

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 - Elizabeth - Protestant

She was named Elizabeth Church Settlement because her reign was a period of peace.
1558, Act of Supremacy
1559, Act of Uniformity
1603, Elizabethan Church: Protestantism

She defeated the Spanish armada, supposed to be undefeatable.

This victory was a major one and helped this protestantism to be developed a lot.

Puritanism spread to England: hard working, devoted to their religion, business minding.
Hard work became essential to British society.
If you work hard, you will be rewarded in heaven and on earth by success.
Puritans dominated parliament and legislation was introduced.

Protestantism, little by little, became the official church in Britain.

She was becoming old and she didn’t have children.

Before her death, she decided to choose who is going to be the next king.

James of Scotland became the new King: he became James 1st of England.

The Age of the Stuarts

There were many profound changes:

- Constitutional Monarchy
- A more unified nation
The stronger England meant a stronger English identity, making it even more different from
the rest of Europe in terms of culture, traditions, political systems.
- Laying the foundations for the British Empire and colonies
- Late 17th century: science became more and more important

In 1707, there was the union of parliaments (Scotland + England) which created Britain.
The UK was created in 1801.

James I (1603-25)

> Change of Dynasty

- 1597: execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
The Queen of England was afraid of her and so she accused her of treason.
- 1603: James VI of Scotland

James I was chosen because he was:

- Nearest blood relative to Elizabeth
- Experienced monarch
- Catholic mother
- Religion (moodle)

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 Charles I (1625-49)
His reign was a reign of confrontation with Parliament, of religious conflict and of Civil Wars.
He was protestant and defended protestantism.

The 17th Century was a century of immigration and colonies.

He believes in the divided rights of kings which led to tensions between the king and the
parliament.
His model was Louis XIV of France.
This conflict caused a civil war.

The signature of the Petition of Rights of 1628 illustrates this tensions:

- No taxation without Parliamentary consent
- No imprisonment without cause
- King accused of not respecting it

Parliament won because Charles was beheaded in 1649.

There is a beginning of a political difference between absolut systems (France, Spain) and a
form of Constitutional Monarchy in England.

The Interregnum (1649-60)

The fact that the king was legally executed was unprecedented.
England declared a Republic (Cromwell).
The Monarchy and House of Lords were abolished.
The Anglican Church was abolished.

Between 1646-51, there was a third Civil War.

In fact, in 1649 Ireland was invaded by England and Ireland was brutally reconquested.
¼ of the population was murdered.
Still today, relationships between Irish nationalists and the British government can be
difficult.

Charles II (1660-85)

In 1660, the monarchy was restored.

Considering what had happened with Charles I, the parliament was reticent and put in place
a sort of “deal” and conditions.

One of the conditions was the 1673 Test Act which required any civil servant or military
officer to swear allegiance to the Church of England but also to the sovereign as head of the
church.

This illustrates the rising power of Parliament in England.

It was difficult for catholic people to hold their jobs.

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 James II (1685-88)

1685: James II of England, Wales, and Ireland, and James VII, of Scotland.

1670: converted to Catholicism which was a problem, he had to face opposition from
Parliament and many Lords.
It led to rebellion and the king had to flee the country.

Glorious Revolution

It was called “Glorious” because there was no war and war was quite a peaceful revolution.

Because of the fact that a new king arrived, since James II decided to escape the country,
parliament wanted a new king.
Parliament decided that the ancient king had abdicated and so they had the power to choose
a new one.

To make sure that there would not be problems again, parliament decided to give the throne
to William of Orange, who was not English.
He was protestant, he was married to James II’s daughter.

He could become king and his wife queen if they accepted the Bill of Rights (1689).

Britain has an uncodified constitution, which means that they have several documents (acts
of parliament, decisions made by judges…).

Parliamentary received many power and its agreement was necessary to:
- Dispense with or suspend operations of the law.
Only parliament could decide on laws and decided to stop making laws.
- Levy taxes
- Raise a standing army

This was confirmed in 1701 with the Act of Settlement which was voted by the parliament, on
which Catholics were excluded from the succession and any sovereign had to be protestant.

It led to moments when the royal members had to choose to marry someone catholic or to
keep some rights of the throne.

Convention Parliament: “it hath been found, by experience, to be inconsistent with the safety
and welfare of this Protestant Kingdom, to be governed by a Popish (= catholic) Prince”
> Officially, England had become a protestant country.

Conclusion

Glorious Revolution:
- Secured Protestantism on the throne: divisive + Northern Ireland
When NI was created, all catholic people living here were excluded.
- Spiritual isolationism on an international level

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 - Brought changes to monarchical power through the Bill of Rights, giving more power
to the parliament.

In 1707, England decided to unite with Scotland by the Acts of Union (one single country,
one parliament) and it was the creation of Britain.

5th November: Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

He was involved on the 5th november 1605 in the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot by
catholics to blow away the parliament, which was a failure.
Guy Fawkes was supposed to be the leader of this plot.

Before the plot, they send a letter to the catholics of the parliament to tell them not to go to
the parliament that day.
Some of them gave the letter to the authorities and so it failed.

The 5th November celebrations are made to show the resistance of the parliament.

2. The development of political and economic liberalism, the birth of empire and the
industrial revolution

- Emergence of political and economic liberalism

- Liberalism: connected with the rights of the individual, and often associated with
ideas of liberty or freedom. It emerged mainly in Britain.

15 June 1215: Magna Carta

It was the first document signed by the king that limited the power of the Crown and that
people have rights.

Rule of law = everyone has to respect laws, even the king.

“No taxation without representation”

Cornerstone of liberty and the chief defense against arbitrary and unjust rule in England.

20 January 1689: Bill of Rights

Consolidated the sovereignty of Parliament.

First European country to develop a parliamentary democracy.
Protection of individual rights.

Doctrine of the sovereignty of Parliament

Parliament has many powers:

- Right to raise direct taxes (Bill of Rights)

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 - Right to mint (= produce) money and control the national money supply
- Vs membership of the EEC since 1973.
If you think that your parliament is the one that makes decisions, it is difficult to accept that
the European parliament can make decisions too.

A.V Dicey, a specialist of the British constitution, developed the notion that the parliament is
the sovereign.

Supremacy of European law

Creation of the single European currency.

In Britain, to be a member of the government, you must be elected in parliament. It’s not the
case in France.

Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the Labour Party (1955-1963)

1962: that surrendering sovereignty to the European COmmunity would mean, “The end of
1000 years of history”

No direct foreign intervention or invasion since 1066. Sovereignty untouched since then.

22/01/2024

The defense of individual rights was something important.

England had a constitutional monarchy in which the queen/ sovereign reigns but does not
rule. Parliament rules!
Most of the powers of the sovereign are symbolic.

In France, people hold power and defend democracy. There is not the same strength in
parliament.

The British Constitution

The British Constitution is uncodified (no single text).

In France we have the Civil and the Criminal Code that are very important in our law system.

The sources of the British Constitution are:

- Statute law (all acts voted by Parliament) written in the Statute Book
Some of them have constitutional value.
- Common Law or Case law (all decisions made by judges)
In Anglo-Saxon countries, lawyers have to find a previous decision made by a judge on a
similar case and have to respect it.
- Works of Authority (ex: Magna Carta)
A.V. Dicey was the one that thought that the Parliament was the sovereign.
W. Bagehot was the one who wrote “the Queen reigns but does not rule”.

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 - Conventions (is commonly accepted but it’s not an act of Parliament)
It could be defined as traditional rules. They have been respected for a long time and now, it
would be unthinkable, not respect them.

The British Constitution is more flexible than the French one. The pragmatism of the English
Constitution allows it to adapt to time.

British political culture: Adversarial nature

Two-party system
Whigs Tories

- Opposition to absolute monarchy - Opposed exclusion

- Defense of Parliament power - Defense of royal absolutism
- “Nonconformist” - Conservative, loyalists
- “Conformist”

They opposed the king, and are non They defend the king, the official
conformist in terms of religion. church.

Liberal Party Conservative Party

The Parliament in France is made in a horse-shoe shape. So you have a sort of gradation
which gives the impression of collaboration.
When someone makes a speech, the person is facing everyone.

The Parliament in the UK, either you are in the government (one side) or you are in the
opposition (the other side).
They face each other.
In the UK, it has been traditional to have two major parties (one or the other in power).

To make sure that the system is working, the vote system is different.
In France, when you act as a member in the national assembly, you should vote twice
because only the first two remain in the race and are chosen.
You cannot be a member in the national assembly if you have less than 50% of the votes.

In the UK, you can win with only 20% of the votes.

1) The British Constitution is Unwritten > FALSE

It is uncodified but there are written texts.

2) English Judges Make Laws > TRUE

It is the Casa Law.

3) All EU Laws automatically became law in Britain > FALSE

The decision on how to implement a law is left to the individual state.

4) All hereditary (inherited) peers have been removed from the House of Lords >
FALSE

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House of Commons: people are elected - House of Lords: people are Lords (hereditary lords
+ life lords [because they did something right for the country])
There are still 92 inherited peers.

5) The European Court of Justice could not change UK law > FALSE
It had the power to change British law on trade and industrial issues.

6) The Prime Minister decided to dissolve Parliament > FALSE

Only the Monarch can decide whether to dissolve Parliament or not.

7) English law is the most important source of law domestically > FALSE
There are many sources of law.

8) The British Parliament can amend or repeal ANY law that it wants > TRUE
Under Parliamentary Sovereignty the Parliament has total control over legislation (in theory).

The development of economic liberalism

Economic liberalism Mercantilism

- Due to rise of a dynamic bourgeoisie - Implementation of protectionist

and individualism policies by states to limit imports
- Free trade principles - Promoted the increase of exports to
- Against state protectionism obtain a trade surplus
- Strong state intervention

The expansion of the British Empire led to the fact that more and more marchands in the
country wanted to be able to trade when they wanted to.

In England, liberalism developed with the strength of individual freedom.

John Locke (1632-1704), The Second Treatise on Government (1690)

= justifying private property and contract.

- Private property:
“The supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his consent”.

You could lose your property and everything you had if the king decided to take it from you.
He defends that what you own is yours and cannot be taken from you since you are the only
one deciding.

If you work hard and are allowed to make your own decisions, you are successful,
everything you hearn is yours.
Private property is a means to push people to work hard.

- Social contract
He was the first one to come up with the idea of a social contract.

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In an unstable state of nature, citizens join together to put in place a government whose
objective will be to defend their private property.
Citizens have the right to get rid of a government and choose another one.

Society could be compared to a company in which citizens are shareholders. Since in a

company you have a contract, in society you also have a contract between citizens and the
power.

Adam Smith (1723-1790)

The Wealth of Nations (1776)

= Advocating the laws of supply and demand to set up the “natural price” of commodities

The laws of supply and demand are still used today.

He explained that the laws of supply and demand should set up the price of things and not
the state.

Smith used this as an argument for international trade. Countries should be free to trade as
they want to at the price they want to.

David Ricardo (1772-1823)

1817: On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation

= a laissez-faire policy of industrial growth.

He adopted the Capitalist manufacturer’s point of view = he advocated the lowest possible
wages for workers to maximize profit.
He saw the worker as a tool and not a human being.

He was one of the founders of Capitalism.

Smith was in favor of a partnership between the workers and the employer but Ricardo was
in favor of a sort of exploitation of the workers.
He was opposed to the laws of good work conditions.

The Industrial Revolution made Britain the number one provider of goods in the world +
Liberalism = British Empire.

The British Empire

The main objective of the British Empire was the creation of markets to develop trade.

1600: East India Company

India was colonized to meet the objective of developing trade.
The objective in Africa was to have slaves.

London: hub of the Empire

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 The Industrial Revolution

Important natural resources = In Britain, you could find many resources, easily extractable
(ex: coal was important because it was the main source of energy, used for steam power +
iron + still).

Export outlets allowed Britain to exchange all around the world.

Socio-economic infrastructure of England

Technological breakthroughs = The first steam engine was invented in Britain in the early
19th century and was applied to trains.

A new breed of businessmen developing a lot = Only in Britain investors were so early
allowing Britain to develop before other European countries.

Conclusion

By 1860: Britain only represented 2% of the world’s population but 40-45% of its output
(everything produced by the world at that time) showing its supremacy.

Winston Churchill to General De Gaulle in 1944: “You can be sure General, that if ever we
have to choose between Europe and the open sea, it is the open sea we would choose.”

05/02/2024

II. From Past to Present

A. The impact of Britain’s past on relations with the European Community

1. History of British involvement in Europe from 1945 to 2010

End of WW2: turning point for the UK, it was weak, indebted to the US, had been destroyed.
The US has become a world power.

2010: new PM in Britain (David Cameron) who launched the idea of Brexit

1945:
- Labour parliament elected (against the Conservative), first time governing the country
on it own
- Great integration in Europe favoured
- They couldn’t turn their back on Europe
- Churchill seemed to see Europe enthusiasm after the war, he wanted to build a
“king of United States of Europe” to resist communism
- When Labour left the parliament in 1951, it was forgotten, the idea of a strong Eurpe

1945:

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 - Criticized by Bevin (foreign minister of the UK): “I must warn my colleagues that the
UK - bcs of its overseas connections - could never become an entirely European
country.”
- Churchill’s 3 intersecting circles representing the US, the Colonies and Europe

They wanted to preserve the SR, the Commonwealth and Europe, they had to make a
choice, impossible to preserve all three at the same time.

Britain being at the intersection of the English speaking world, the Commonwealth and its
colonies, and the United Europe. It had a major role to play after the war.

Commonwealth: Ottawa conference in 1932, ie imperial preference = fact that the

commonwealth of nation was regarded like a free trade area, meaning that trade between
the members of the commonwealth was simplified, with no tariff
It was difficult for Britain to join European Community because it was a different trade area

Britain was attached to Sterling area created in 1931, which was going to be an integration
obstacle, as they never joined the Eurozone

US: creation of NATO in 1949

At the same time, some European countries decided to form treaties to create an
organization with the idea of economic deals to prevent another war.
This started with the May 1950 Schuman Plan, i.e. pooling of European coal and steel
resources.
This led to the creation in 1951 of the European Coal and Steel Community (CECA).
Britain was invited to join but refused because Britain was a major producer of coal and steel
in the world and there was no reason or profit to join this community.

In 1951, when Winston Churchill became PM, people thought that he would be more
integrationist, but it was not the case.
Anthony Eden, the Foreign Secretary was anti-European, in favor of the SR with the US.
So only Churchill only supported co-operative schemes.

The main interest of Britain was the interest of defense against communism.

In 1951 a European Defence Community (EDC) whose goal was to have a common army in
Europe was introduced.
During the Korean War (1950), the US was in favor of rearming Germany.
Jean Monnet (French politician) introduced a scheme for a fully integrated European army.
But in 1954, the French Assembly failed to ratify it.

Between 1954-58, the Western Europe had an increasingly important market.

> ⅔ of British trade outside Europe
Britain proposed a Free Trade Area to facilitate commerce between European states without
external tariff (alternative to a European customs union) → It was rejected.

Members of the CECA decided to create the European Economic Community (EEC) by the
signing of the Treaty of Rome (1957) with 6 founding members (same as the CECA
members) from which Britain was excluded.

1961: Britain’s 1st application to the EEC

- It seemed to be motivated by the desire not to lose favor with the Americans
The Americans would be more present in Europe via Britain

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 - De Gaulle’s veto
According to him, the UK would play America's Trojan Horse.

1967: 2nd application by the Labour PM, Harold Wilson

- De Gaulle’s refusal for the same reasons

1972: 3rd application by the Conservative PM, Edward Heath who was not so enthusiastic
towards the SR because he was aware of all the economic benefits that the UK could derive
for being in the European Community.

1 Jan 1973: Britain becomes a member of the EEC because Pompidou, the French
president after De Gaulle, was not opposed to it.
The problems of British integration have not stopped. The decision to join developed an
Anti-European sentiment.
1979: James Callaghan (Labour PM) decided to accept the idea of the European Monetary
System (EMS) = idea of create an exchange rate mechanism to reduce exchange rate
variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe

Towards European Monetary Union

A single currency
British Budget Question (BBQ): a grievance
Britain complained because it was giving too much money to Europe. It was claimed by
Britain that the system disadvantage britain in to many ways:
- They rely on too many imports from countries outside the Community
- CAP as highest cost

It led M. Thatcher in 1979, during the Strasbourg Summit, to say “I want my money back”
because Britain had been cheated by the budget arrangement.
Britain was considered by other members as falling to respect the “acquis communautaires”
= regulation that any member state has the obligation to respect.
The issue was solved in 1984 during the Fontainebleau Summit, a rebate with three billion
pounds a year was granted to Britain. Britain had won a victory over Europe.

(Game Time: Cummings Caricature, Daily Express, 20 April 1988

Head of the horse = Edward Heath
1) 1972 > British thrith application
2) 1980 > Thatcher as a PM)

12/02/2024

Feb 1986: Single European Act (SEA)

The objective was to create the Single European Market.

(single market = most trade barriers have been removed for goods with some common
policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the FP and of enterprise and
services)

Margaret Thatcher supported this idea even if she was opposed to the European Union. She
didn’t want a federal union but the European community to be a partnership, not more.

At that time, she could be regarded as a central architect in European integration.

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1968: Members’ internal tariffs abolished → so a customs union but still non-tariff barriers
(not something to pay, that was abolished, but common regulations which still remain in
place)
Goods could move freely between the European community even if the safety regulations
were not the same.

To make sure that it would be accepted by all the countries, Thatcher supported the
Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) which had 2 major elements:
- Each member state had a number of votes depending on the population. The bigger
the state, the more votes you had.
- Depending on the decision, you needed a higher or lower majority.
QMV was extended across the whole single market programme.
We switched from unanimity voting to QMV.

In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, QMV was extended for education, health, the
environment, economic and financial policy.

In 1997, with the Treaty of Amsterdam, QMV was extended to new areas such as
employment, equal opportunities, social policy & partly foreign policy.
In 2007, with the Lisbon Treaty, QMV was extended to 44 new areas.

There is a paradox on the support of Thatcher of QMV. She kept explaining that she wanted
to defend the sovereignty of the member states when she was euro-scpetic. However, QMV
is significantly limiting the role of small states.

SEA in 1992 was a turning point for freedom of people, goods, services and capital.

The US and Japan were afraid of a “fortress Europe”, a protectionist Europe which
contravenes the neo-liberal principles of the GATT.
E.G. CAP

Margaret Thatcher and neoliberalism (PM 1979-1990)

She had promised “to roll back the frontiers of the state”, so as to implement free trade and
economic liberalism.
For 30 years, there was a form of protectionism and nani-state: a strong state intervention to
help the population.
After 1973, there was a strong economic crisis and it was becoming more and more difficult
for the state to help the population.
There was a shift in the ideology: Thatcher wanted to come back to economic liberalism.
That’s why more and more people talked about neo-liberalism, a new form of economic
liberalism, supported in the 1980s.

Thatcher was inspired by the ideas of:

1. Friedrich Von Hayek (The Road to Serfdom, 1944):
- Social democracy leading to communist totalitarianism, with a state becoming too
strong
- Corrective power of the market could reduce this trend leading to no liberal ideas

2. Milton Friedman had a big influence in the 1970s in the US. He was known as “the
New Right” to influence the Republican Party which can be associated to a right-wing
party in the US.
He developed the theory of monetarism, involving tight control of the money supply, low
taxation rates, minimalist state spending and low inflation.
It was really a retreat from the post-war Keynesian approach.

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Thatcher decided to adopt neo-liberal reforms in Britain:
- She launched an aggressive campaign of deregulation and privatization
- She introduced severe cuts in government borrowing and in the welfare state
- Direct taxes were also reduced

She adopted all the ideas introduced by Friedman.

These reforms faced a lot of opposition by British people (working class and poor people
because they were the first victims of this economic approach).
They were defended by Trade Unions.

To crush the opposition to her project, she decided to reduce the power of trade unions.

1984-1985: Miner’s Strike > Coal mines were not profitable. Thatcher announced the
closing down of many coal mines which was going to lead to miners becoming unemployed.
The national union of miners, a powerful trade union, decided to start a strike for nearly a full
year.
Miners were helped by trade unions but they did not replace their wages which impacted
their families. After a year, the government won the strike and miners went back to work.
They had obtained nothing.

This new policies:

- Would have a strong power on people
- Such an attitude, Thatcherism, goes against what was happening in the European
Community (solidarity, partnership, shared resources…)

Thatcher started to appear as Europe opposed.

Her position was illustrated in the Bruges Speech in 1988:
- She starters her speech by mention the historical importance of links with Europe
(immigration from Celts, Danes and Saxons)
- She continues by explaining that Britain has spread political ideals throughout
Europe and beyond to the US
- She finishes by explaining the importance of unity to defend freedom

In the second part of her speech, she insisted on the problems with the current EC policy:
- Europe is not competitive enough
- Europe threatens sovereignty (nationhood)
- Europe is over-centralised and too bureaucratic
- Europe lacks pragmatism, leading to economic inefficiency
She wasn’t opposed to Europe but Britain was the model to follow.

(Game Time: Thatcher’s no, no, no speech 1990, 30 October 1990)

Accusations against Jacques Delors Accusations against the Labour Party

Chairman of the European Commission

European Parliament to be the democratic Maybe the Labour Party would agree with
body of the European Community all these proposals

European Commission to be the executive Agree to a single currency: the euro

of the European Community
Agree with the abolition of the pound
Council of Ministers to be like a senate sterling

Party incompetent in finance and economy

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 John Major, PM 1990-1997

He replaced Thatcher, but remained conservative.

He was opposed to social directives and decided to negotiate an opt-out from the Charter of
Fundamental Social Rights for Workers of 1989 which was annexed to the Treaty of
Maastricht in 1992.

Britain obtained an opt-out on this charter and was not obligated to respect it.

19/02/2024

Tony Blair (1997-2007)

18 years with the same political party > Torny Blair = Major change as the Labour Party was
elected.

He promoted a more positive attitude to Europe. He admitted, suring the speech to the
Labour Party conference, that Britain had had a problematic integration in Europe. He insists
that he don’t want Britain to leave.
The only difference between him and Thatcher is that he wants to be a full member and not
be half in and half out.

Tony Blair wanted to establish the “third way” (of governing mixing things from the left wing
and right wing) across Europe, along with Bill Clinton (US) and Gerhard Schroeder
(Germany).
VS. French socialists (Lionel Jospin) who wanted to reject what was called
“‘Anglo-American talk of flexibility and liberalizing markets’”, which were liberal ideas
This rejection shows that Britain and France still had a cultural and political gap.

During the Speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs in 1995, he said that he
wanted Europe to be:
- More relevant to the real concerns of people
- A more democratic and open Europe. Subsidiarity should be given real effect
- A Europe that is less wasteful and inefficient

1997 Tony Blair cancelled the opt-out from the Social Protocol of the Maastricht Treaty
He wanted strict adherence to neo-liberal policies to keep the flexibility of the British market.

In 1992 Britain obtained an opt-out from the final stage of the EMU: Britain never adopted
the € (Denmark is also out of the Euro zone on its own will).

Gordon Brown became the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Britain had to pass 5 economic tests to make sure that they were ready to join the Economic
and Monetary Union of the European Union, as:
- Capacity of Britain to retain its ‘flexibility’,
- A guarantee that inward investment would not be affected,
- Ability of the City of London financial services industry to maintain a competitive edge
In the end, Britain never joined.

The signing of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty was a long and painful process. It changes the
European Community to the European Union, becoming more than an economic union.

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There were several stages leading to the Lisbon Treaty:
- Giscard introduced a draft Constitutional Treaty in France in 2002 to prepare a
Constituion for the European Union
- The Constitutional Treaty was presented in 2005, intended to create a consolidated
constitution for the European Union, which was rejected by referendum by France
and Danish people.
This was a non legally binding referendum. Chirac thought that this Treaty was good for
France and wanted to ratify it. People started to wonder why they voted.

As Britain did not do a referendum Jacques Chirac was furious and decided to question the
rebate.
Tony Blair agreed to give up the rebate in exchange for reforms of the CAP (Common
Agriclture Policy).
Since France accepted to rectify the treaty, the process went on. But to please everyone, the
word “constitutional” was removed and changed to “reform”.

It was in the Lisbon Treaty that for the first time the leaving process of the European Union
was explained. This is why this treaty was evoked during Brexit.

Tony Blair accepted the Lisbon Treaty explaining that the British “red lines” were respected.
They had special treatment in 4 areas:
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Key decisions of foreign policy (ex: imigration)
- Justice and Home Affairs
- Harmonization of taxation (ex: unanimous voting was necessary and not QMV)
The objective was to preserve British sovereignty.

Relationship with the US

Blair wanted to develop the SR with the US.

- Blair wanted Britain to be a bridge between the US and Europe

- Schroeder was reported of saying once that the traffic across Blair’s bridge always
seemed to be one-way, criticizing this image of the bridge
- In 2003 the British collapsed when Blair gave his full support to Bush for the
invasion of Iraq which was seen as a problem since Europe was against this invasion
The fact that Blair decided to send British troops to Iraq revealed that Britain wanted to side
with the US and not to Europe.

Some successful cooperation

- In 1998 Blair met Chirac in Saint Malo to sign an Anglo-French defense declaration
for armed forces cooperation
This agreement was later extended to all EU.

- In 2004 the European Arrest Warrant was signed. Il led to heightened cooperation in
justice and home affairs

Gordon Brown, PM 2007-2010

He replaced Blair but he was more Eurosceptic than Blair.

He tried to keep links with the EU with pro-European positions, to promote globalization.

Jon Cunliffe became a special councilor for European Affairs. He was a top civil servant
from the Exchequer, the most anti-European Department.

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On 13 Dec 2007, the Lisbon Treaty was officially signed, Brown had become the PM and
decided to sign it on his own, 5 hours after the other. This was described by the British press
as “sulky rudeness”.

On 29 Jan 2008, a mini summit was organized on the crisis in London. He only invited
France and Germany and not all the EU member-states.

On 21 Feb 2008, he made his 1st visit to the European Commission while he was the PM for
8 months.

Views on Europe

On 22 June 2005, during a speech Brown said “Global Britain, Global Europe: a presidency
founded on Pro-European realism”. It is problematic because global means worldwide while
Europe doesn’t represent the whole world.

12 Nov 2007: speech for the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London

- Global Europe: economic terms
- Europe as an instrument

Since WW2, Britain kept the same objectives until 2010 where Cameron had a different
vision and initiated the notion of Brexit.

(Game Time: Britain and the EU: A long and rocky relationship”)
Why does Europe produce such a polarised reaction?
- The weight of history
The Battle of Waterloo was a battle between Britain and Napoleon, won by Britain
- An insular mentality
Because of being an island, Britain thinks that it is different from other countries.
- War
Britain was able to put an end to the war. This explained why Britain did not want to join the
steel and coal community.
- Britain wanted to be in the EEC but De Gaulle said no
In 1973, Britain managed to get in thanks to Heath.

The economic boom was promised by Britain but never materialized.

- 1975 Referendum
When there was a referendum asking people if people wanted to remain in Europe,
Thatcher campaigned for a yes. Whereas, members of the Labour Party campaigned
against Europe.

In 2016, key members of conservative party were for Brexit and those of the labour party
were against it.

New polarization of the political scene: new political divide between leavers and remainers
and not between political parties. There were people from both parties in leavers and
remainers
- Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, for a more federal Europe
and a signe currency
- Building bridges and burning them
Blair began to rebuild the nation’s fractured relationship with Europe but Cameron blocked
the EU treaty with veto.

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 04/03/2024

2. Why has Britain been such a reluctant/ awkward/ half-hearted European partner?

Many sources of conflict :

- Desire to maintain free trade beyond European boundaries, so opposed to
protectionist policies
- Britain’s determination to maintain good relations with the US: a source of
resentment
- Differences in political culture: consensus in the EU vs adversarial system in the UK
(a majority is enough and u impose ur decision on the others)
Thatcher marks a return to neo-liberal policies. Britain was even more different from the rest
of the EU.
The political proximity with the US created more proximity between GB-US than GB-EU.
- Different legal culture: Roman or Civil Law in founding members vs uncodified British
Constitution
All the treaties show that European law is really codified, unlike British law. For Britain,
Europe lacks flexibility.
- Opposed to the creation of a federal Europe, since a loss of Parliamentary
sovereignty
Britain believed that the creation of a federal Europe would lead to a loss of sovereignty.
Britain has always tried to promote unanimity voting in order to guarantee sovereignty of
each country.
- Question of public opinion: referendum in 1975 (Britain wants to remain a member? >
no more “Britain wants to become a member?”), a certain feeling of superiority over
the Continentals
The way Europe is described in the British press is important. Manipulating or shaping
opinion is a key element.
The multiplication of negative articles has been partly due to this persistence of feeling of
superiority over the continent. Britain considered its country better than the others because
for a while, there were better living conditions in Britain than in the other countries.
- Illustrated by the British press
The British press has been really anti-European and focused on negative elements.
- Bureaucratic EU directives, threatening the “British way of life”
Ex: 1994: import on bananas under 14 cm
> British press criticized European directives and mock them

Misappropriation of money and corruption

1999: Jacques Santer forced to resign over allegations of fraud and corruption
- Physical isolation
“Splendid isolation” = Britain was different from the rest (Britain represented has a lion
because the lion is the king of all the animal and so Britain is the dominating country)
- French Tourist Office (1996) : “Even though they have a well-developed sense of
humor and can laugh at themselves, they remain conservative and chauvinistic. The
British are profoundly independent and insular, constantly torn between America and
Europe” = Gap between Britain and the rest of Europe
Indeed, Britain is insular and so it is necessary to cross a channel to go to the UK.

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 - English newspaper headline : “Fog in The Channel - Continent Cut Off”
Stressing the separation between Britain and the rest of Europe.

B. The major institutions in the EU and British reactions

The different functions:

- For the judicial function: Court of Justice
- For the legislative function: European Commission, Council of Ministers & European
Parliament
- For the executive function: President, European Council

The EU is not a state, it’s a collection of member-states so it’s complex!

You can be a member of the European Court of Human Rights but not be a member of the
European Union.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) created by the Treaty of Rome

- Sits in Luxembourg
1 judge for each member-state
- 1964: supremacy of EC law over state law
European law is stronger than member-state laws
- Now: courts deals with justice, home affairs, social policy and labor law
Ex: France was comdemned by the ECJ because the living conditions in prison
VS
- British reactions: loss of sovereignty
EU law is more powerful than British law: European judges decided for Britain. That’s why
Britain always tried to reduce the decisions of the court.
- Opposed to any extension of ECJ jurisdiction
- Social policy and labor law: Anglo-Saxon (no intervention in labor law, in working
conditions) vs European model (strong intervention)
The objective is to do maximal profits and not to protect workers. In the European model the
workers policy has more importance.

For years, Britain obtained an opt-out from the Chapter on workers policies and social
justice. Britain could do whatever it wanted!

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The European Commission
- Sits in Brussels
President: Ursula von der Leyen
- Proposals for EU legislation
- Drawing up the budget
- Responsible for the implementation of EU legislation (regulations & directives)
This institution has a reputation of being integrationist.
VS
- British reactions: silly directives
- Seen as the federal center of the EC/EU due to the integrationist position
- Democratic deficit, because its members are not elected by people
There are many unelected civil servants working for this institution
- Failed politicians becoming commissioners + corruption
Some politicians became members of the Commission after a political career in their
countries, so the institution is seen as a “second career”.
Ex: After been fired, Edith Cresson became member of the Commission

The Council of Ministers

- Brussels
- Day-to-day legislative institution
- 27 ministers of member states in areas
Depending on the subject, you will have different ministers (environmental ministers, farming
ministers, finance ministers…).
- Presidency rotates every 6 months
VS
- British reactions : extension over the years of Qualified Majority Voting (taking
decisions without the need for unanimity but which go beyond a simple majority of
members)
- “Package deal” aspect = It was necessary to find compromises and to get decision
voted

The European Parliament

- Brussels & Strasbourg
- Only directly elected institution (MEPS), members are elected every 5 years since
1978
Each country has a certain number of MEPS depending on the population.
- Cross-national party groups
Members make groups with common interests but are cross-national groups because
different parties, from different countries, sit in the same group.
Ex: Group for left-wing parties for different countries which defend the same policy and
strategie.
VS
- British reactions: proportional representation for the European Parliament vs First
Past the Post for the British elections: The candidate who polls the highest number of
formal votes, even if it isn’t more than 50% plus one of the formal votes, is elected
The only condition is that you have to be number one, even if you only have 20% of votes.
- Direct threat to the sovereignty of Parliament

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 - Low turn-out for European elections : democratic deficit

The European Council

- Meeting of all the heads of government at a “summit”
- The objective of the summits is to give a political direction to the EU
- President of the Council, appointed by national governments for 2.5 years
- President: Charles Michel (Belgian), after Donald Tusk, until 2022
VS
- British reactions: suspicious of intergovernmental summits
- Horse trading culture (always negotiating, trying to find compromises) vs British
culture

The European Central Bank becoming official after the Lisbon Treaty
- Frankfurt
- To oversee the euro, interest rates and inflation
VS
- British reactions: disliked by Eurosceptics, fearing for Britain’s gold reserves since
Britain always refused to adopt the Euro. They were not willing to collaborate.
- Unease about the German domination of monetary policy

C. Brexit, so what…
1. David Cameron’s vision of Europe: Brexit?

In opposition: David Cameron withdrew the support of the British Conservative Party for the
center-right (Christian Democrat) European People’s Party in the European Parliament.
> It is one of the groups in the European Parliament. It can be regarded as a center-right
group. David Cameron wanted to become a far-right party (European Conservatives and
Reformists) because the Conservative Party is not right enough. This far-right group is in
favour of getting out of the European Union.
It is like a message he wanted to send.

So a certain disdain for the EU.

2009: Cameron promised to introduce a “referendum lock” whereby no major new, future
transfer of power to the EU, or treaty changes, can take place without the peoples’ consent.
He thought that it was too late for the Lisbon Treaty but guaranteed that it never would
happen again. He wanted to ask the people’s opinion by referendum.

Asking people directly for their opinion, it’s nearly against the British Constitution system,
because in theory, parliament is supposed to decide in the name of the people.

So, 2011 UK European Act (Sovereignty Act)

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 11/03/2024

2010: a surprise bilateral defense pact exclusively with the French because GB was trying to
have an agreement with one only country instead of all EU

March 2011 for EU military intervention in Libya, supported by the French and opposed by
the Germans: that’s a new element of disagreement.

December 2011: blackmailing the EU, by threatening to veto a unanimous vote to change
the treaties to deal with the Euro crisis, unless the EU dropped its Financial Services
Directive aimed to limit the activities of the financial services sector of the City.

2012: unwilling to give up any more of Mrs Thatcher’s rebate

2013: challenged the new EU budget proposals

January 2013: Cameron promised an IN/OUT referendum on the EU (by 2017 at the latest)
if the Conservatives won the next election in 2015
This promise was an electoral bet, but still was a commitment.
Aim:
- Attract voters
- To enter into new negotiations with the EU to claw back sovereignty from the EU

The EU answered to this blackmail and pressure put by UK:

- Germany: OK for some changes, but wonder what would be the real cost?
Germany wanted this cost to be unity for all the EU members.
- France: François Hollande said changes « ne sont pas prioritaires » (February
2014)
- 2014: Cameron opposed Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European
Commission considering that he was too much in favor of federation
The pressure was getting bigger and bigger making the GB position much difficult.

Why such a decision?

● Cameron not overly hostile to the EU
● Pressure from right-wing Conservative Eurosceptics & UKIP (UK Independence
Party, led then by Nigel Farage, party asking for Brexit)
● 2014 European Elections: UKIP first with 24 seats
It is paradoxical to sit at a government that you are trying to make disappear.

Referendum question: “Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?”
November 2015, during the preparation of the referendum, Cameron explained the 4 key
ways to change the EU in a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk:
- Integration = He insisted on the fact that according to him, to have a better integration
and a closer union, it was necessary to allow countries to opt-out of elements that
they disagree on
- Benefits = The fact that it was necessary to restrict access to benefits to migrants
coming to the EU

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 - Sovereignty = Cameron’s idea was to give greater powers to national parliaments of
the member-states to block the EU legislation to defend their sovereignty
- Eurozone vs the rest = He wanted to obtain an explicit recognition that the euro was
not the only currency of the EU
According to the Lisbon Treaty, all the members are supposed to adopt the euro and so the
euro is supposed to be the only official currency.
Ex: If Ukraine was to become an EU member, the country should adopt the euro

Wanted the UK to leave the EU Wanted the UK to stay in the EU

- UKIP = UK Independence Party - David Cameron

The main line of the party was Brexit - Labour Party
- A faire number of Conservative - SNP = Scottish National Party
MP’s - Plaid Cymry
- Several Labour MP’s - The LibDems

2. 2016-2020: A complex process

Cameron resigned and was replaced by Theresa May, in charge of negotiating Brexit.
In July 2016, she decided to create a new department: Department for Exiting the EU
(DexEU). For the next few years, nothing was talked about other than Brexit.

The governement was in conflict with Parliament on who to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty (to start the Brexit process).
This disagreement went to the Supreme Court of the UK. They gave a decision and it was a
victory for Parliament against the PM.

24/01/2017: Necessary to consult Parliament before the triggering.

March 2017: The trigger of Article 50 started a 2-year-long process.

(Theresa May’s speech in Lancaster House, 17/01/2017 - “A Global Britain”)

● Introduction:
- Theresa May uses a key expression → « A Global Britain »: Britain as « the best
friend and neighbor to our European partners »
- Hence a plan to reach « the right deal for Britain »

● Part 1: A Plan for Britain

- Main objective of the plan: « To build a stronger economy and a fairer society » i.e
leitmotiv of her speech
- Key elements of the economic and social reform Theresa May advocates:
Modern Industrial Strategy
Reforming Schools
Bringing the deficit down
Preserving the Union

● Part 2: A message from Britain to the rest of Europe

Theresa May reminds the reasons of Britain’s decision to leave the EU:
- Internationalist history and culture

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 - Different political traditions: no written constitution & Parliamentary Sovereignty
- Recent history of devolved governance
- Little history of coalition government
- Flexibility in the UK vs uniformity in the EU

● Part 3: Objectives and ambitions

Theresa May describes the “new and equal partnership” she wants to develop with the EU,
by listing 12 priorities in the negotiations of a Brexit deal:
- Certainty and Clarity
1. Certainty
- A Stronger Britain:
2. Control of our own laws
3. Strengthen the Union, between the 4 nations of the UK
4. Maintain the Common Travel Area with Ireland
- A Fairer Britain:
5. Control of immigration
6. Rights for EU nationals in Britain and British nationals in the EU
7. Protect workers’ rights
- A Truly Global Britain:
8. Free trade with European markets, ie a free trade agreement with the EU but
no membership of the single market
9. New trade agreements with other countries
10. The best place for science and innovation
11. Cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism
- A Phrased Approach:
12. A smooth, orderly Brexit, ie asking for a phased process of implementation

● Part 4: A New Partnership between Britain and Europe

Theresa May is confident a deal can be achieved for 3 reasons:
- A majority in the UK and the EU want a positive relationship between the 2 after
Brexit.
Giving names:
President Tusk: then President of the European Council
President Juncker: then President of the European Commission
President Schulz: last day as President of the European Parliament
David Davis: then Secretary of State of DexEU
Philip Hammond: then Chancellor of the Exchequer
Boris Johnson: then Foreign Secretary
- Theresa May’s deal as « the economically rational thing that both Britain and the EU
should aim for » i.e best deal!!
- Cooperation between Britain and the EU need for trade and security
i.e Britain & France as 2 nuclear powers + permanent seats on the UN
Security Council
Intelligence capabilities

● Conclusion:
She ends the speech by addressing a veiled threat to the EU. She indeed describes the
consequences for the EU:
- New barriers to trade with one of the biggest economies in the world
- Investments in Britain by EU companies jeopardized
- A loss of access to financial services (London’s City)
- EU exports to Britain at risk
- Integrated supply chains disrupted

March 2017: triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty

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The article provides for a mechanism for the voluntary and unilateral withdrawal of a country
from the EU. An EU Member State wishing to withdraw must notify the European Council of
its intention to do so:
- A letter to President Tusk
- Starting a 2-year negotiation process

Immediate effect

The trigger of the Article 50 had an immediate effect on:

Scotland:
- 13/03/2017: vote in the Scottish Parliament for a 2nd referendum on independence
- 27/06/2017: Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, announcing decision to
delay such a referendum until Autumn 2018
- 15/05/2018 : Scottish Parliament’s refusal to vote the EU Withdrawal Bill
This bill was discussed in the British Parliament but it was necessary to have this Bill
approved by the Scottish and the Welsh parliaments since it will had an impact on these
countries
Wales:
- Serious economic and political consequences (isolation)
Wales is one of the poorest regions of the UK and even of Europe. It means that when the
UK was a member of the EU, Wales was receiving lots of European funds. Nevertheless,
Wales still voted for Brexit.
- Carwyn Jones, First Minister, calling for a federal system (Wales should be given
more voice in the UK) VS Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru’s former president) and Adam
Price (current president) for a debate on independence

2 major proposals:
1. A federal model for the UK = Cut England to pieces as there are many cultural
identities and their flags still existing today
2. The independence for Wales = To break up the UK and have an independent
Scottland, Wales…

In June 2017, May decided to call a general election, a snap election: an election taking
place when it is not supposed to take place.
Theresa May’s attempt to improve her majority to negotiate Brexit.
She didn’t have a majority but a hung Parliament, a parliament in which no political party has
a clear majority.

18/03/2024

12-09-2017: EU Withdrawal Bill was voted in the House of Commons

It led to strong reactions in Scotland & Wales which denounced the « power grab » of
Brussels’s repatriated powers.
VS devolution settlement

Nicola Sturgeon: « The decision to act without our consent, and the manner of doing it, will
not be forgotten ».
in Stuart Nicolson, « Reality Check: Has the UK’s devolution settlement been ripped up? »,
BBC Scotland News, 14-06-2018

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December 2017: deal with the EU on a transition period until 31 December 2020, if
necessary December 2021
16-05-2018: EU Withdrawal Bill was voted in the House of Lords who slightly modified the
text and so:
12-06-2018: Bill back in the House of Commons

06-07-2018: May presented the Chequers’ Plan presented (name of PM’s country
residence) to propose a soft Brexit
- Proposal for the UK to mirror EU rules on goods
- UK free strike own trade details
Otherwise, she faced politicians who wanted a hard Brexit.
This plan led to the resignations of Boris Johnson (foreign secretary at the time) & David
Davis (Secretary of State for Exiting the EU): they resigned in protest against this plan and
May’s approach to Brexit.

September 2018: plan rejected by President Tusk.

Many delays asked for Brexit since no one was ready for Brexit because hardly anyone,
before the referendum, expeted the Brexit to win: 11 April 2019 until 31 October 2019.
23/05/2019: European elections (the UK was supposed not to hold the elections but British
people went to vote because they still European members)
A new party was created juste for these elections, in January 2019: the Brexit Party, led by
Nigel Farage. It was successful but had a low turnout : 36.9%

24/05/2019 : Theresa May announced her resignation because she could see that there
was a will for real Brexit and she was not able to have it.

23/07/2019 : After a few weeks campaign, Boris Johnson new leader of the Conservatives
on the promise to have Brexit.
24/07/2019 : new PM, with a new government, fully in favor of Brexit

In his 1st speech he promised to deliver Brexit on 31 October

“Our mission is to deliver Brexit on the 31st of October for the purpose of uniting and
re-energising our great UK and making this country the greatest place on earth.”

(Cartoon, Martyn Turner, The Iritish Times, 22-07-2019)

What’s this door?
10, Downing Street, ie the Prime Minister’s house in London.
2 shoes, whose are they?
On the right, Theresa May leaving
On the left, Boris Johnson arriving. A clown’s shoe because of the nickname given by some,
« Bojo the Clown », title of the cartoon!

End of August 2019 : Queen’s approval for Parliament’s suspension until 14 October = way
to giving more holidays to the British Parliament
The objective was to have Brexit voted without the Parliament, which led to major reactions.
It was approved by the Queen but was unconstitutional.

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24/09/2010 : Supreme Court of the UK deciding Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament
was unlawful and unjustified

October 2019 : Parliament voting an act rejecting a no-deal Brexit

A further delay until 31 January 2020 was granted by the EU.

Nov 2019 : Parliament accepting the holding of a general election in the UK in Dec 2019 to
have a better majority and not a hung parliament.
Results:
- Conservatives : 365 seats (+ 47)
- Labour Party : 203 seats (- 59)
- SNP : 48 seats (+ 13)
- LibDems : 11 seats (- 1)
- DUP : 8 seats (- 2)
- Plaid Cymru : 4 seats (no change)
Huge victory for Boris Johnson & the Conservative Party VS Defeat for Jeremy Corbyn &
the Labour Party.
Why?
- People fed up with Brexit: they can’t escape to it, so they want to have it quickly
- Johnson’s populism: Brexit would be good for the UK
- Corbyn’s unclear position & a promise to renegotiate and hold a 2nd referendum

31/01/2020 : Brexit at last ?

Yes & no : transition period
Time to negotiate Brexit details

D. The UK in/ and Europe now

Now 7 years since the Brexit referendum:

End of transition period :
- The UK has left the EU and Single Market and Customs Union
- EU law no longer applies in the UK
Now, there is a form of free trade and friendly cooperation between the UK and EU.

‘Taking back control’ : the background to Brexit

- Populist message developed by Boris: taking back control of its borders, money and
laws (people who voted for Brexit wanted it)
- After decades of increasing hostility to the EU project
- Other factors:
- A rise in nationalist sentiment
- Austerity and frustration with traditional politics

Outcome of Brexit :
- Wider debate into the role of the nation-state, a concept developed in the 19th
century, a key century when states corresponding to nations developed: it is the
moment when the UK became more and more strong

36
With Brexit, there were more and more divides in the UK which led to questioning the state.
- Rise of populism
- UK’s faced its worst constitutional and political crisis since WWII which led more and
more people to ask for a codified constitution for the UK

Post-Brexit EU-UK relationship

- Under severe strain
- Many tensions :
- Over Northern Ireland
- Trade and supply of labor
- Attention shifted from other major challenges (the environment and climate
change)

Where we are now : the Post-Brexit world

- 31 January 2020 : leaving the EU, after 47 years
- Most important constitutional shake-up in the UK
- First time a member state has left the EU
It could pave the way for other leavers.
- UK : own policies on trade and immigration
ex : Deal with Rwanda to send asylum seekers and migrants there

Boris Johnson decided to set up a system of points, just like Australia: depending on your
job, skills, siplomas, you are guaranteed a number of points and be allowed or not to come
to the UK.

18/03/2024

- Significant disruptions to trade, during the first weeks due to new border rules,
particularly to UK exports to the EU
- A shortage of people to fill jobs
Since you had several events at the same time (Brexit, pandemic, Ukraine war), it is very
difficult to see the impact of just Brexit and analyze.
Overall, there was a big impact on the British economy.
- January 2022: beginning of import controls on EU goods making it more difficult to
trade
Boris Johnson's idea was to trade within the UK, creating a new free trade area within the
UK: The Internal Market.
However, some persons desagree with this idea as the rules are not the same in every part
of the UK.
Ex: Wales had to agree to receive products with GMOs from the UK even if it is
forbidden in Wales.

New trade border rules

- New customs formalities and regulatory controls between the EU and the UK leading
to more bureaucracy and longer delivery times.
- Risk: more red tape and longer delivery times

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 - Scottish seafood exporters first victims
Ex: Scotland was the first victim of Brexit as fishing is a big part of its economy and the new
rules make it difficult to trade with the EU.
- Many delays before the implementation of border checks…

Free movement and immigration :

- EU citizens no longer have the right to move to the UK to work and settle, and
vice-versa
It was the end of freedom of movement: you can go, but it is more difficult now.
- Visa issues
Many British retired people living in France could remain in France until they wanted to, but
now with Brexit, if they want to remain in France, they have to spend 6 months (50% of the
year) in the UK.
- A new immigration policy, based on a point-system (as in Australia)

Labor shortages :
- In several sectors : road haulage industry
- Several factors : Brexit and Pandemic
- Many European workers back home + new entry restrictions

Residency rights and travel :

- End of free movement principle
- Deadlines to apply for residency = June 2021, 6 months after the real Brexit
- New travel rules

Post-Brexit EU-UK deal on trade and future relations

- Preserving tariff-free, quota-free access to each other’s markets for goods
- But, extra bureaucracy and costs for importers and exporters on both sides of the
English Channel
Ex: European Companies had to find new partners to trade because it was too complicated
to trade with the UK.
- Fishing rights : a bone of contention = illustration of diplomatic tensions between
France and the UK
- A 5 year and a half transition period
- Autumn 2021 : a row between the UK and France

UK trade deals with non EU countries

- UK free to pursue an independent trade policy: he decided to focus on the
Commonwealth and on the US as relations with Europe were complicated
- Trade deals with third countries, as Australia and New Zealand (ex: The UK recently
concluded negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) (31 March 2023))
- Evolving relationship with the US: if you want to develop trade with the US, it will be
complicated to keep trade with the EU because trade measures are really different
So a choice to be made!!

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 The impact of Brexit in the UK: Wales

Brexit: a multi-dimensional impact:

- Legal and political: Repatriation of powers held by Brussels, “power grab” denounced
All these powers should be given to Wales and Scotland and not be held in London. The EU
was replaced by the British Union, which was not supposed to decide on all these matters.
- Economic
Polls (ICM), 1 March 2018 (Brexit was not yet implemented but there was
already an impact because companies started to react to the forthcoming Brexit):
49% of respondents: negative impact on the Welsh economy, and 24% a positive one
VS 44% and 33% a year before

March 2017: report by Demos

Wales would be the worst affected region in the UK

Wales: poorest region in Europe

Trading a lot with European countries

60.6% of Welsh exports to EU countries (Welsh Government, “Don’t let Brexit chaos derail
the Welsh economy”, 07-06-2018)

- The case of independence

Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru’s president, 27 June 2016, The Guardian:

“It’s time to put independence back on the agenda now in order to safeguard Wale’s future.
This is about us beginning a national conservation rather than calling for a referendum,
though that is where it will end up.”

18 June 2016: a poll by YouGov, The Independent:

28% of voters would support independence if it allowed Wales to remain in the EU
(53% against, 20 DNK)
VS traditionally no more than 10% of Welsh people supported independence

Adam Price: then leader of Plaid Cymru, pushing for independence

YouGov poll held for Saint David’s Day on 1 March 2021:
33% of respondents said they would definitely support independence

Rising movements as Yes Cymru

The impact of Brexit: Scotland

Brexit: a new circumstance for Indyref 2

Wait and see: first will to hold a second referendum quickly

VS then: Brexit first
= The last referendum was see as a one-in-a generation referendum

13 March 2017: vote in the Scottish Parliament for a second referendum (69/59)

39
Rejected by Theresa May

June 2017: delay this referendum on independance, leaving time to negotiations

December 2019 GE: a new mandate for a second referendum

So, formal request to Boris Johnson: rejected

Pb: Covid crisis

May 2021 Scottish elections: SNP as first party in Scotland, majority with the Greens

Yet, Nicola Sturgeon deeply criticised

March 2023: resignation

Replaced by Humza Yousaf (born to Pakistani immigrants)

The impact of Brexit: Northern Ireland

56% for the EU

Concerns about a harder border (NI Protocol)

So conversations about the Irish reunification

Political ascension of Sinn Féin, now in power (First Minister: Michele O’Neill)

The impact of the Covid crisis

Deept fault lines between Westminster and the devolved administrations

Ie collapse of the much-vaunted “four-nations approach”, a lack of direct communication and

the recent uncertainty over whether furlough would be extended beyond England

Divergences in policies

Impact in Wales: Welsh ?????

CONCLUSION

● Original like between the British Isles and the European continent (ie immigration
waves, trade links, cultural proximity)
● Yet, after the 16th c : more distance (ie religion, political and legal culture, economic
policies)
● After WWII : weakened position
● 1973: a member of the EEC
● « Awkward partner »: ambivalent position
● June 2016: Brexit referendum
● Several years of political and constitutional chaos

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 ● Remainers vs Brexiters
● Risk for the Union : Scotland asking for a 2nd independence referendum (refused
twice by London)
Northern Ireland: refueling tensions and calls for a possible reunification with the Republic of
Ireland

So, final deal in December 2020 and Brexit on 1 January 2021

Impact of the elections for the devolved administrations in May 2021

Theresa May in her Lancaster House Speech in January 2017 : “we are leaving the
European Union, but we are not leaving Europe”.

Now a complex relationship

Illustrated by Liz Truss, when a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership, refusing to
say if the French president was a friend or foe… (August 2022)…
● January 2023 polls : ⅔ of British people now support future referendum on
re-entering the EU
● Statista : In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the EU?
- 02-02-2023: 33% right to leave
- 54% wrong to leave
- 13% DNK

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