ABSTRACT
In terms of domestic politics, the Heath government is variously regarded as an interlude between the Labour governments of 1964-70 and 1974-9, a precursor to the Thatcher experiment, or as an administration that destroyed any claim to an identity of its own through its policy reversals. By contrast, the successful conclusion of Britain's entry to the European Community (EC) is seen as giving the external policy of the Heath government a clear and enduring importance; indeed, to mark it out as a turning point in Britain's international position, bringing to an end a period of semi-detachment from West Europe and initiating a process of absorption into the European Community that would be continued with the Single European Act (1986) and the Maastricht Treaty (1991).
