ABSTRACT
The nature of Britain's relationship to the process of European integration has been a focus of controversy within both the Labour and Conservative parties since the first steps to establish supranational institutions were taken after the Second World War. The weight of history has accordingly coloured the attitude of British governments, Conservative and Labour alike, on the question of European unity. Representatives of the various socialist, social democratic and labour parties had sat together in the one socialist group since the establishment of the assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in the early 1950s. The developing engagement between the Labour party and its colleagues on the European mainland could be contrasted with the detachment of the Conservative party from other centre-right governing parties on the continent. Party statements adopted prior to Blair's accession to the leadership suggested that Labour's approach to treaty reform would be considerably more constructive than that indicated by the Conservative government's behaviour.
