IISES International Academic Conference, London

RETHINKING THATCHER AND EUROPE

ALESSANDRA ZANETTI

Abstract:

The relationship between the UK and the EU has always been depicted as a difficult one; and the master of British Euroscepticism, the key ingredient in UK’s often fraught relationship with the European partners, has always been indicated in Margaret Thatcher. In fact, she has often been accused of a sudden U-turn in her attitude towards the European issue, in particular after 1988, and from an aloof but vigorous participation to a severe opposition. This paper tries to sustain Thatcher was never too incoherent in her attitude towards European integration; indeed, her combative posture was her distinctive character through her whole career, and her oppositive outlook was the consequence of a set of elements, the key reason being her performance as the premier of the United Kingdom and the leader of the Conservative Party. Thatcher was not Eurosceptical in a strict ideological sense, and she never really changed her attitude towards the integration process. Until 1990, she was able to compromise with her European partners. But she always had reservations towards the transformation of the Community in a supranational entity with particular characteristics as those of what would be the Union.

Keywords: European integration; Thatcher; Euroscepticism; Thatcherism; Economic History; International Relations and Regulations