New Labour has always claimed consistency in its euro policy, yet its position has undergone significant modification since Blair became party leader: early enthusiasm has given way to uncertainty. Labour's shift is commonly ascribed to political factors. This article argues the primacy of economics. Labour has a better understanding of Europe's importance to Britain than perhaps any post-war administration but, as its euro policy demonstrates, its ‘new’ approach to Europe is substantially a traditional one.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GambleA. and KellyG. (2000), ‘The British Labour Party and Monetary Union’, West European Politics23 (1), pp. 1–25.
2.
HeffernanR. (2001), ‘Beyond Euro-scepticism: Exploring the Europeanisation of the Labour Party since 1983’, Political Quarterly72 (2), pp. 180–189.
3.
KingA. (2001), ‘Fatalism may pave way for “yes” vote in single currency referendum’, electronic Telegraph, 31 May 2001.
4.
StephensP. (2001a), ‘The Blair Government and Europe’, Political Quarterly72 (1), pp. 67–75.
5.
StephensP. (2001b), ‘Britain's euro policy gets fixed: Gordon Brown has outsmarted Tony Blair’, Financial Times, 22 June 2001.
6.
WorcesterR.M. (2000), How to Win the Euro Referendum, London: The Foreign Policy Centre.
