Topic 2: FP (1964-70) Flashcards

1
Q

4

List the reasons for EEC application in 1967

A
  • Economic issues
  • Political factors (placate pro-marketeers and counter Heath)
  • Foreign policy factors
  • Renewed optimism over a reduced supranationalism
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2
Q

3

Describe how economic issues caused EEC application in 1967

A
  • Declining growth (3% to 1.5%) contrasted with continental rivals
  • Short-term shocks created demand for EEC entry to solve long-term issues (Wilson openly pro-market after 1966 July Crisis)
  • Strengthen Britain’s technological developments
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3
Q

4

Describe how political factors caused EEC application in 1967

A
  • Internal europhile attitudes
  • Intended to outflank Heath who openly advocated EEC entry
  • Wilson appeared even-handed in debates by foucussing on terms, rather than principle. of entry
  • Wilson initially convinced Tony Benn that Britian could develop better technology through membership

Benn - tech minister

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4
Q

4

Describe Labour europhiles’ attitudes to the EEC (1964-70)

A
  • e.g. Jenkins and Brown
  • Brown wanted to create a politically integrated Europe to stand up to USA
  • Did not believe commonwealth was good base for British power
  • DEA developed pro-EU policy
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5
Q

4

Describe the Labour left’s attitudes to the EEC (1964-70)

A
  • e.g. Foot and Casle
  • Claimed membership would increase food prices
  • Would damage balance of payments with rush of imports from Europe
  • Regarded EEC as ‘capitalist club’
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6
Q

4

Describe how FP factors caused EEC application in 1967

A
  • ‘Friendly Five’ (excluding France) wanted to end rival trading blocs with Britain
  • Britain had committed to Treaty of Rome
  • Greater international role
  • To please President LBJ who spoke in favour of united Europe in NATO, especially since he held a more ambivalent attitude towards Britain than JFK
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7
Q

4

Describe how reduced supranationalism caused EEC application in 1967

A
  • De Gaulle supported integration, not supranationalism of Brussels
  • Empty Chair Crisis in 1965 - French boycott of EEC
  • Gained members’ individual veto on important national issues
  • Wilson belived he could work with France to build a ‘Europe of States’, though the FO disagreed
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8
Q

6

Outline British attempts to join the EEC in 1967

A
  • March 1966 election have Wilson increased mandate
  • Featured in 1966 manifesto
  • Wilson and Brown toured all EEC countries in early 1967
  • Formally applied May 1967
  • endeavoured to avoid long-delays of Macmillan
  • De Gaulle vetoed application 2nd time in November 1967
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9
Q

4

Describe how De Gaulle caused EEC rejection in 1967

A
  • Still concerned over ‘special relationship’
  • Concerned motives were purely economic
  • 1966, Healey (Defence Sec) forced to apologise after calling De Gaulle ‘bad ally’ for French troop withdrawal from NATO
  • ‘Friendly Five’ favoured membership, but did not want to alienate France after empty chair crisis
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10
Q

2

Describe how the ‘special relationship’ caused EEC rejection in 1967

A
  • Concerned De Gaulle
  • Paris June 1967, De Gaulle demanded assurances from Wilson that UK would detach from ‘special relationship’ → completely unrealistic
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11
Q

2

Describe how devaluation caused EEC rejection in 1967

A
  • Resistance to devaluation
  • French said sterling would have to be devalued before entry

combine with economic reasons card in exam

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12
Q

3

Describe how wider economic reasons caused EEC rejection in 1967

A
  • 1966 Sterling Crisis justified French concerns over Britain’s fitness to join
  • EEC had more to lose than gain by allowing EFTA states access to common market
  • De Gaulle criticised Wilson for seeking hasty entry to resolve economic woes

combine with devaluation card in exam

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13
Q

3

Describe the consequences of EEC rejection in 1967

A
  • Wilson humiliated
  • Criticism from the left and the right
  • Forced to accept devaluation
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14
Q

2

Describe American military support (1964-70)

A
  • Lab cancelled expensive military aircraft programme →
    replaced with American F1-11s
  • Wilson abandoned identification with UDI (see other card)
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15
Q

4

Describe Wilson’s attitude to the USA (1964-70)

A
  • pro-American
  • Amicable relationship with LBJ
  • Reluctance for military force informed inaction in Rhodesia and Vietnam
  • Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 highlighted need for maintained Atlantic Alliance
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16
Q

7

Describe Wilson’s attitude to Vietnam

A
  • War escalated in 1964
  • Wilson resisted direct military involvment against LBJ’s wishes
  • Britain would struggle to afford intervention - but needed American support to sterling to avoid devaluation
  • Anti-Vietnam protests in Britain
  • Wanted to appease political left and popular opinion - condemnation would have led to reduced funding for social developments
  • Wilson instead offered moral support
  • Strained US relationship
17
Q

4

Outline a background to issues in Rhodesia in 60s

Rhodeisa = modern-day Zimbabwe

A
  • White supremacist minority govt led by PM Ian Smith
  • Consensus among frontbenches to deny independence on apartheid-style terms
  • Labour took strong line on self-determination for native populations of former colonies
  • UDI in Nov 1965

UDI - unilateral declaration of independence

18
Q

4

Describe reasons for resistance to military intervention in Rhodesia

A
  • Overstetched military
  • Would have split cabinet/parliament (WIlson had majority of 4)
  • Wilson committed to peaceful transition to black majority rule
  • prospective aggression against white British descendants left public support unattainable
19
Q

4

Describe economic sanctions placed on Rhodesia

A
  • e.g. Britain would not import tobacco from Rhodesia
  • Intended to collpase Smith regime in weeks (took years)
  • Imposition of sanctions failed
  • Rhodesian government continued without much disruption
20
Q

3

Why did economic sanctions fail to cripply Rhodesia?

A
  • South Africa maintained trading relations
  • Evasion of sanctions through Portuguese colony of Mozambique, West Germany and Switzerland
  • Contravening of sanctions by Shell and BP
21
Q

3

Describe Wilson’s attemps to resolve Rhodesian issues post-sanctions

A
  • Met Smith on HMS Tiger in 1966 and HMS Fearless on 1968
  • Smith had right-wing Conservative support
  • Refused handing over situation to UN for fear of British abjection from responsibilities
22
Q

2

Describe the aftermath of Rhodesia issues

A
  • Smith would outlast Wilson as political leader
  • Rhodesia would collapse in 1979, with sanctions being a contributing factor
23
Q

3

Describe British reduction in imperalism prior to East of Suez withdrawal

A
  • Conceded independence to all major colonies
  • Troop reductions in Suez in 1956
  • Remained over 57k troops and 14k navy personnel permanently deployed east of Suez
24
Q

4

Describe the announcement of withdrawal East of Suez

A
  • Jan 1968
  • All British military forces would be withdrawn from East of Suez by 1971
  • Healey’s white paper would bring defence budget below £2bn by 1970
  • Marked rapid shift in three circles policy
25
Q

3

Describe reasons for opposition to withdrawal East of Suez

A
  • Strategically important in Cold War e.g. prescence in Persian Gulf ensured that West retained grip on Middle Eastern oil supplies
  • Bound by treaties, such as the Baghdad Pact 1955 which included responsibility to Pakistan and Turkey
  • Military forces in Singapore, Hong Kong, Aden, etc

may be ust background info

26
Q

4

Describe how economic costs contributed to withdrawal East of Suez

A
  • Accentuated by Jenkin’s spending cuts after 1967 devaluation crisis
  • Balance between military contributions to Western Europe and prescence in Gulf and Far East
  • East of Suez prescence costing £317m a year by 1965
  • Export market had switched from Empire to Europe
27
Q

3

Describe how decolonisation contributed to withdrawal East of Suez

A
  • Bases in Singapore, Aden no longer strategically important
  • Had been designed to protect trade routes to India
  • International bases irrelevant due to nuclear war -> would leave no power vacuum for USSR
28
Q

2

Describe how reliable partners contributed to withdrawal East of Suez

A
  • Australia and New Zealand lnked themselves with security of Malaysia and Singapore
  • Iran and USA capable of intervention in Gulf

Iran led by pro-Western Shah