Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to reassess the most significant achievement of the Heath premiership, which was securing entry to the European Communities. The chapter initially concentrates on identifying why Heath placed such a priority on securing entry, before examining the means by which this was achieved. The chapter focuses on the following themes: (a) the complexities of the negotiating period; (b) the challenges of securing the parliamentary approval for entry, given the doubts that existed within the parliamentary Conservative Party; and (c) the failure of Heath to effectively sell to the electorate the benefits of membership and the significance of his inability to imbue the pro-European case within British political discourse [116].
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Notes
- 1.
UKREP is the UK’s Permanent Representation in Brussels. These senior civil servants provide a conduit between Whitehall, the European Commission and the senior policymakers of other member states. As such, they both convey the UK’s position or perspective to other EC/EU policymakers, and they regularly brief officials in Whitehall about developments and Directives emanating from the EC/EU and how these will impact on the UK.
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Dorey, P. (2021). Entry into the European Communities. In: Roe-Crines, A.S., Heppell, T. (eds) Policies and Politics Under Prime Minister Edward Heath. Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53673-2_10
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