ABSTRACT
In the period 1950-1955 the six original member states of the EC laid its foundations. The British Conservative government of the time wished them well, rated their chances of success poor and made clear that this venture was not for it. Britain, in short, stood on the sidelines. More than 50 years later, in 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government came to power with a programme including the promise that the UK would not join the euro area that then comprised a large majority of the EU states and represented the latest stage in the process of European integration. This declaration, together with earlier aspects of British policy, confirmed yet again that Britain was seemingly still content to stand on the sidelines, though on this occasion as a member of the European Union but one that had long since exhibited signs of semi-detachment.
