ABSTRACT
Nor is this division new or never changing. Some individuals change ‘sides’ as their stances move with what they would call ‘events’. One has only to look at the two main parties to see that. Initially the Conservatives were the main champions of EEC membership, pushing it for all it was worth. The labour movements initial stance was one of healthy scepticism, with many in the labour movement campaigning for a ‘No’ vote in the referendum for EEC entry. True, some of those opponents are now cheerleaders for the European Union, for example Neil Kinnock, an EU Commissioner. And the Tories are a mainly eurosceptic party (without, of course, daring to ask the $64,000 question on continued membership). How times change. Individuals and parties can, of course, change their views. Nothing wrong with that, nor need such changes be a matter for criticism. However, I would argue that the questions that hung over the original membership of the EEC are writ large over the current debate on Britain’s future in the European Union.
