The Domestic Politics of British Policy on the Euro

Abstract

A wide variety of explanations have been applied by academics and journalists to explain the details of British government policy on the Euro. This article examines four leading explanations rooted in an analysis of domestic politics, arguing that British government reluctance to support Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) membership can be explained more in terms of ideologically infused intra‐party politics and the realities of neo‐pluralist (interest group) politics, while explanations rooted in an analysis of inter‐party politics (electoral considerations) and public opinion are less helpful. The article also compares the relevance of the four domestic political explanations of British policy with regard to the positioning of respectively the two largest political parties in the country: (New) Labour and Conservative (Tory).

Key Words:

• Economic and Monetary Union
• British policy
• inter‐ and intra‐party politics
• interest groups

Notes

1. Despite the moderating rhetoric of David Cameron’s leadership since December 2005, party policy has not shifted.

2. Many commentators (journalists, politicians and academic economists, including Michael Artis (see Artis 2006) have attacked the five tests as overlapping and imprecise.

3. The BAG includes representatives from business and trade organizations, the Consumers’ Association and the Trades Union Congress (http://www.hm‐treasury.gov.uk/pub/html/docs/emu/emubag.html).

4. See http://www.congressfordemocracy.org.uk/.

5. Polls indicate that Conservative party voters are far more likely to oppose British participation in the Euro (see for example, 25 June 2000 MORI, Commissioned by News of the World (http://www.mori.com/polls/2000/notw.shtml).

6. For a full list of MORI polls over the past three decades on the public’s views of priority political issues see http://www.mori.com/polls/2003/mpm030916‐top.shtml.

7. In June 1997, Europe was important at 30 per cent but well behind Education and Health at 45 and 51 per cent. In June 2001, Europe was important at 24 per cent but well behind Health, Education and Crime, with Health reaching 58 per cent. In April 2005, Europe was ‘very important’ at 19 per cent, behind twelve other issues (e.g. Mori polls at http://www.mori.com/election2005/index.shtml).

8. This also applies for those who support British adoption of the Euro. Since 1996, ‘waverers’ (those that could be persuaded to change their minds when voting in a referendum) range from 42 per cent of the population to 59 per cent. See http://www.mori.com /Europe/Euro‐participation.shtml.

9. For a recent (autumn 2005) Eurobarometer survey of opinion see http://ec.Europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb64/eb64_uk_nat.pdf.

10. For example, a 25 June 2000 MORI, Commissioned by News of the World (http://www.mori.com/polls/2000/notw.shtml) showed results to responses to the following question: “In a referendum, would you vote for or against Britain replacing the pound sterling with the single European currency?” 64 per cent of those surveyed would vote against, with only 24 per cent in favour, with 83 per cent of Tory supporters opposed (only 12 per cent in favour), 51 per cent of Labour supporters opposed (with 35 per cent in favour) and 56 per cent of the pro‐Euro Liberal Democratic party supporters opposed (with only 28 per cent in favour). The same poll also indicated that a majority of voters of each of the three parties wanted a public debate and referendum before joining (57 per cent Conservatives, 63 per cent Labour, 57 per cent Liberal Democrat).

11. MORI poll published 1 July 2003 (see also http://www.mori.com/polls/2003/mpm030622‐top.shtml).

12. See footnote 8.

13. For a survey of different policy styles in Britain and several West European countries see Richardson (1982).

14. All figures are from August 2003. Audit Bureau of Circulations. See http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/tables/0,7680,1037778,00.html.

15. http://ww.mori.com/polls/2002/bcc‐topline.shtml.

16. Mori poll from 1999 cited at http://www.cbi.org.uk.