Renegotiation, Referendum and the Review of New Zealand’s Special Arrangement, 1975

Abstract

This chapter looks at the ‘renegotiation’ of the terms of Britain’s membership of the European Community and the subsequent referendum on Britain’s membership in 1975. It shows how New Zealand yet again assumed a prominence in the political debate about Britain’s relationship with Europe vastly out of proportion to its size, location and strategic importance. It explains the political motivations for the British Government’s prioritisation of New Zealand in 1975, including the British government’s search for solutions in the renegotiation that helped small Commonwealth nations and gave Britain access to cheap food. Importantly, a solution for New Zealand did not require a Treaty change and had a good chance of success, thanks to the fact Protocol 18 was under review in 1975 anyway. This drove the British Government, yet again, to extraordinary measures on New Zealand’s behalf, including agreeing to a secret Memorandum of Understanding that was in large part achieved at the Dublin Summit. Moreover, the solution for New Zealand was a good one. It politically committed the Community to allow New Zealand to retain a sizable share of the British dairy market beyond transition. This indicates Anglo-New Zealand relations were evolving in the mid-1970s, but not necessarily deteriorating and significant continuities remained.