Abstract
The UK became a member of the European Communities on 1 January 1973. Her journey to becoming a member was tortuous and her membership has been far from being trouble-free: it has been dubbed ‘the awkward partner’ (George 1990). Indeed, the UK can be characterised not so much as an awkward partner as a reluctant bride, delaying saying ‘yes’ because her heart still yearned for others and unhappy in a domestic relationship that does not allow her to play the role she expected. Though pressed at times to end the relationship, and experiencing a particularly fraught relationship at the end of 2011, she remains wedded to the institution and, despite having opted out of certain domestic chores, nonetheless deals efficiently with those that remain.
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© 2012 Philip Norton
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Norton, P. (2012). Opt-Out: Britain’s Unsplendid Isolation. In: Hayward, J., Wurzel, R. (eds) European Disunion. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137271358_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137271358_17
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