It’s possible that Theresa May has changed her mind about the EU, having voted remain in the referendum. It’s also possible that she is just dutifully implementing the decision that resulted from Parliament passing the buck to the electorate. There is a significant precedent for a change of mind, in the person of Margaret Thatcher.
In 1975 Mrs Thatcher was a keen supporter of Britain remaining in the EEC, as the EU was then. By 1988 she had changed her mind and gave a rousing speech in Bruges, making many of the points we have since made in this blog but nearly 30 years earlier.
The text of her speech, to the College of Europe, can be found here, and there is a link to the video. She made much of Britain’s place in Europe and its history and in later sections recommended actions on issues that remain controversial today. Her opposition was not to the formation of a European community of nations but to the notion that this should be a federal arrangement, governed from above by a supra-national authority. We have picked out some of her remarks, which focus on the things that are wrong with the EU, but first here are a few highlights from her speech to the Conservative Group for Europe in 1975 (before her enlightenment).
The argument she presented for Britain to remain in the EEC was clearer, more accurate and more honest than most of the case offered by the Remain campaign in 2016, forty-one years later.
By the time of her Bruges Speech, as it became known, in 1988 Mrs Thatcher had changed her mind on some fundamental issues.
That follows a crisp and convincing portrayal of Britain’s contributions to and receipts from Europe over the previous two millennia. But then she turns to Europe’s future.
The speech continues by laying out some practical ways in which the Community should change. Mrs Thatcher’s other “guiding principles” cover: reform, enterprise, protectionism and defence; all issues that remain current 30 years later, showing how consistently the EU has continued on its set path and ignored requests to change course.