impact of the EU on British policy making and politics

Question 1

1st era: 1970-1990s

Answer 1

caution towards the EU

Question 2

describe the 1st era:

Answer 2

-a pro european party was created, called the social democratic party
-in 1988 it joined with the liberal party to make the liberal democrats
-when thatcher became PM in 1979 her government did things that reduced the impact the EU had on britain compared to other member states because she was anti-EU

Question 3

2nd era: 1990s-2016

Answer 3

eurosceptic era

Question 4

describe the 2nd era:

Answer 4

Major’s government had some divisions as some MPs were europhiles and others were eurosceptic
-major was forced to leave the ERM (exchange rate mechanism) due to an economic crash known as black wednesday in 1992
-blair became PM in 1997 and was a europhile and supported the 2004 EU expansion, but was criticised by some right wing papers as it resulted in high immigration levels
-UKIP (pro brexit) founded in 1990s but grew when nigel farage became leader
-in 2014, UKIP won elections to the european parliament which pushed the tories to 3rd place

Question 5

3rd era: post 2016

Answer 5

divided britain

Question 6

describe the 3rd era:

Answer 6

-following the EU referendum the public were more divided than ever over EU membership
-arguable that it was the root cause of two failed governments
-cameron forced to resign when the referendum went against what he wanted
-may called a GE where she lost her majority (vote of no confidence)
-lib dems and SNP weren’t happy with brexit
-johnson adapted the slogan ‘get brexit done’ which united the party
-the pandemic and global conflict made it all the more difficult, which led to the collapse of johnson’s government
-the transition period after leaving the EU is fractious and there is lots of instability

Question 7

policy areas in the UK that have been effected by the EU - economy

Answer 7

-the uk considered joining the euro under new labour but decided not to in 2003
- the uk was a net contributor to the EU budget, so uk gov.s had to pay more into the EU than they received back
-the EU negotiates trade policies on behalf of its members. following brexit the UK has more freedom to make its own trade deals but it has less influence as it has a much smaller economy than the EU

Question 8

policy areas in the UK that have been effected by the EU - social policy

Answer 8

-EU social policy led to increased rights for british workers e.g. paid holidays
-EU laws to promote gender equality had a big impact on uk policy, leading to shared gender leave, the outlawing of gender pay discrimination and maternity discrimination and much more
-many commentators feared that leaving the EU would have a negative impact of future UK social policy, but brexiteers argue there’s no reason why britian couldn’t pursue similar policies alone

Question 9

policy areas in the UK that have been effected by the EU - immigration

Answer 9

-freedom of movement prevented uk gov.s from restricting immigration from EU countries
-in the year leading up to the referendum net emigration to the uk from EU countries was 190,000
-from 2010 the tories promised to reduce migration to tens of thousands but would be impossible to achieve with GB still in the EU
-brexit gives uk gov.s more freedom to introduce immigration controls but many experts argue immigration is essential to the health of the economy
-combination of brexit and covid led to a serious labour shortage in many industries e.g. manufacturing in 2020