As seen from the British side

PHASE 11945-1950

We must build a kind of United States of Europe. There is no reason why a regional organisation of Europe should in any way conflict with the United Nations. On the contrary, I believe that the larger synthesis can only survive if it is founded upon broad natural groupings. There is already a natural grouping in the western hemisphere. We British have our own Commonwealth of Nations.

Our policy should be to assist Europe to recover. But in no circumstances must we assist them beyond the point where our assistance would leave us too weak to be a worthwhile ally for the USA. It the last resort, we cannot rely on European countries.

PHASE 21950-1958

We are not prepared to accept the principle that the most vital economic forces of this country should be handed over to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and is responsible to nobody.

Britain had not been conquered or invaded; she felt no need to exorcise history. Her imperial role was not yet at an end.

PHASE 31958-1970

Britain has missed the European bus.

Entry means the end of Britain as a nation; we become no more than Texas or California in the USA. It means the end of a thousand years of history.

PHASE 41970-1979

Fanfare for Europe Full-hearted acceptance

It is not part of the democratic debate that you have to accept any defeat as final.

PHASE 51979-1997

We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them re-imposed at a European level, with a new super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels.

This is all a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe. This rushed takeover by the Germans on the worst possible basis, with the French behaving like poodles to the Germans, is absolutely intolerable. I’m not against giving up sovereignty in principle, but not to this lot. You might just as well give it to Adolf Hitler, frankly. I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather have the shelters and the chance to fight back, than simply being taken over by economics. Kohl will soon be coming here and trying to say that this is what we should do on the banking front and this is what our taxes should be. I mean, he’ll soon be trying to take over everything. It has to be thwarted.

PHASE 61997-

In 1950 we jibbed at thesupra-national nature of the proposed Coal & Steel Community, the first insti-tution of European unity. Herbert Morrison complained that ‘the Durham miners will never wear it’ – although staying out didn’t save their jobs in the 1960s and 70s. So we said that it wouldn’t happen. Then we said it wouldn’t work. Then we said we didn’t need it. But it did happen. And Britain was left behind.