ABSTRACT
The European elections had provided the first test of public opinion since the election that had brought Margaret Thatcher to power. In terms of British party politics, the 1979 European elections confirmed Thatcher's resounding General Election victory. Labour's manifesto stressed a fair deal for Britain and a new deal for Europe. A strongly pro-European agenda was a feature of the joint Liberal-SDP Alliance manifesto. The Liberal Democrats, though traditionally staunchly pro-Europe, toned down some of their federalism. Although, as a pro-European party, they tended to fare badly in European elections, there were more worrying features of the result. The Iraq War had dealt a hammer blow to the unity of the Labour Government, whilst the Conservatives had ditched their uncharismatic leader and had chosen a seemingly more charismatic Michael Howard. The June 2009 elections took place against the background of the world financial crisis and the rapidly mounting total of unemployed across the member states of the European Union.
