Referendum 1975

The relationship between Britain and the EU became very strained in the late 20th century. The question of "Do you think that the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)?" was put to the public, emphasising the tentative relationship that Britain had with the EU. Following a campaign filled with heated debates, eye-catching pamphlets and accusations of lies from both sides, the nationwide referendum was held on June 5th, 1975 to determine the outcome. But what was the reasoning behind the referendum and what analysis can we draw about its effect on Britain's relationship with Europe in the late 20th century?

What was the 1975 EU Referendum About?

The 1975 referendum was a public vote that decided whether Britain should remain a member of the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC was an organisation created in 1957 to integrate the economies of its members. It is often referred to as the Common Market.

Britain had not always been a part of the EEC - in the post-war era, Britain saw the USA as its best potential trading partner, and so preferred to pursue relations with America rather than Europe. However, other economies in Europe were outperforming Britain, and its relationship with the US had become tense over the 1956 Suez Crisis. As such, Britain began the process of joining the EEC, applying in 1961 but not becoming a member until 1973 - why did it take so long?

• French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's first application as he was concerned that the French voice in Europe would be weakened if Britain joined.
• He was also worried that Britain’s close relations with the US would lead to a large American influence on Europe.
• De Gaulle also vetoed Britain’s second application in 1967.
• After de Gaulle resigned in 1969, Britain was invited to reapply to the EEC and officially became a member on January 1st, 1973.

The 1975 referendum was proposed by Prime Minister Harold Wilson after he began to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership in the EEC. He presented these renegotiations to the public in a referendum.

Fig. 1 - Harold Wilson, twice Prime Minister of the UK (16 October 1964 - 19 June 1970/4 March 1974 - 5 April 1967

The reasoning behind the 1975 referendum

Wilson held the referendum in 1975 after his Labour party had become badly divided over EEC membership. Due to many labour MPs being anti-EEC, he saw Europe as something which could break the government. He believed a referendum could fix this issue without splitting his party and give him the opportunity to say he was offering the people a chance to shape their futures by voting.

Euroscepticism

Euroscepticism is normally seen as an ideology of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside the government of Margaret Thatcher. However, Euroscepticism started far earlier and had a profound impact on British politics.

So, why were people Eurosceptic?

When Britain first joined the EEC in 1973, its position within the coalition was not strong - it did not have a lot to offer. People were acutely aware of the fact that the other European powers could use this in order to push Britain around.

Euroscepticism was a belief held by those on both sides of the political spectrum, meaning that political parties were divided over the issue of Britain's place in Europe.

After Britain joined the EEC in 1973, things took a turn for the worse.

• Rather than an improving economic situation as they had hoped, they were faced with the 1973 oil crisis, which saw an international rise in the price of oil. This severely affected Britain's economy.
• After 1973, British exports to EEC countries declined.
• The British people were told that joining the EEC was a purely economic arrangement and that Britain's sovereignty would not be affected. However, the founders of the EEC, in particular Jean Monnet, admitted that joining a European bloc would require nations to give up a degree of autonomy.

All of this led to Britain maintaining a constant level of Euroscepticism. A 2009 study showed that out of the EU member states the UK was one of the countries that viewed the EU most unfavourably.¹ Of course, Britain's Euroscepticism came fully out of the shadows during the 2016 EU Referendum, in which the UK voted to leave the European Union.

The 1975 Referendum Pamphlet

A government-produced pamphlet was released prior to the referendum, advocating to stay in the European Economic Community. This pamphlet was 16 pages long and had the following quote by PM Harold Wilson on its front page:

The pamphlet contained a lot of information, such as:

• What the referendum was
• How to vote
• What the common market was
• The implications of voting yes or no

Supposed effects of a "no" vote

One of the pages contained information on the supposed effects of voting to leave the common market and is believed to be one of the reasons people were afraid to vote to leave.

The pamphlet stated that:

• Foreign firms may pull out of British investments
• The government would need to try to negotiate special free trade agreements for exports
• There would be a risk of making inflation and unemployment significantly worse

To stay or to go?

So, did the government actually give unbiased, balanced and informative advice in the pamphlet? Let's have a look at the arguments given by both sides of this referendum - the in and the out campaigns.

Which parties were in favour of leaving the European Community?

The Labour Party was very divided on the UK’s EEC membership, with most of their MPs being against remaining a member. Many had opposed Britain’s entry into the EEC in 1973 and during both 1974 elections. The decision to hold a referendum was largely an attempt to resolve this issue. In the referendum, a high proportion of the Labour Party voted to leave, whilst most of the Liberals and Conservatives voted to stay.

The Conservative party, led by Margaret Thatcher, showed the most enthusiasm to say yes to Europe. This was because they followed the idea of having a free market, allowing businesses to decide prices without the intervention of governments.

1975 Referendum Results

The British people voted to stay in the EEC. With a 64% turnout, the results showed that over 2/3 of voters supposedly supported the UK’s membership in the common market.

Further analysis of the results showed:

• 73% of women voted to stay
• 71% of men voted to stay
• 80% of people over 65 voted to stay
• 62% of people aged 18-29 voted to stay

Fig. 2 - The Remain campaign logo for the 1975 Referendum

1975 Referendum Lies and Issues

Although the people voted to remain in the EEC, the government was not entirely honest with them about the implications of the vote.

It was the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath (1970-74) that had finally taken Britain into the EEC in 1973. Heath and Harold Wilson, the previous Labour Prime Minister, knew what it meant to be a part of that community, but they did not share important details on Britain’s future in the EEC during the referendum.

The Conservative Party knew that joining the common market meant that they were part of a group whose goal was to ultimately create a federal united state of Europe and that they would have to turn their back on their former partners and allies, and would no longer be able to purchase cheap food from the Commonwealth.

After the referendum was held members of the public came forward with issues that they had regarding the referendum. The two main issues were:

1. Many people who voted yes to stay said they only did so out of fear of the consequences of leaving, rather than an actual desire to stay a member.
2. Those who voted to leave the EEC claimed the entire thing was a betrayal of democracy. They believed that the vote should have occurred before Britain became a member rather than after.

1975 Referendum Analysis

The 1975 EEC referendum occurred at a time when Britain's economy was stagnating, largely thanks to a drop in exports and the international oil crisis. Driven by warnings of a worsening of the British economy if they left the EEC, many people voted to remain not because they agreed with staying in the EU, but because they were worried about what would happen to their jobs and livelihoods if they left.

This demonstrates that people were most concerned about the state of the economy - perhaps, if the economy had been better when the referendum took place, then more people would have voted to leave the EEC, as they would have felt that Britain did not need the support of Europe to get by.