Factionalism in the Conservative Parliamentary Party: the 'Anti-Europeans' Since 1970
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Factionalism in the Conservative Parliamentary Party: The 'Anti-Europeans' since 1970. Philippa Jane Smedley Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Department of Politics November 1998. The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. 2 Philippa Jane Smedley Factionalism in the Conservative Parliamentary Party: The 'Anti-Europeans' since 1970. Submitted for the dejree of Doctor of Philosophy, November 1998. Abstract The Conservative Parliamentary Party (CPP), traditionally regarded as a party of unity and cohesion by many leading academics, has since the early 1970's, witnessed a public display of internal controversies and disunity amongst its members. In the last twenty-eight years, successive Conservative governments have required the CPP to adopt the Treaty of Rome and two major treaty changes. It is the intention of this research to show that it is specifically the task of securing parliament's ratification of the Treaty of Rome and subsequent changes, which has fragmented the CPP and catalysed division. It is argued that since Britain's third attempt to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1971, a number of Conservative Members of Parliament (MP's) have persistently opposed the principle of entry and any further attempts at integration. Their behaviour, in the furtherance of this aim, is to be regarded as "factional." In support of these two positions, this research narrates the story of Britain's integration with the evolutionary institutions of Europe, from the perspective of those Conservative Members of Parliament who, since the vote on principle of entry on 28 October 1971, have engaged in behaviour contrary to that expected by their leadership and colleagues. No academic work to date has closely examined the internal dynamics of factions within the CPP, which constitutes a crucial area of importance and academic interest as to the effective functioning of the party in office in the latter part of this century. This research goes some way towards the remedy of this omission by providing a case study of internal dissent over the span of the European debates, from the Parliamentary debates over Britain's membership of the BC 1971-2 to the European Finance debate in November 1994. The case demonstrates both the dynamics and effective roles in the CPP and the nature of party factionalism in contemporary British politics. Table of Contents Title page I Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3-5 List of Tables and Illustrative Materials 6-7 Acknowledgements 8 Chapter 1: Factions - Structures, Dynamics and the CFP 9-33 Introduction 9-12 Factions - A problem of definition 12-17 Factions versus Tendency, Party and Splits 17-19 1. Tendency 18 2. Party Split 18-19 3. A Party 19 Historical development 19-22 Factions - Origins, Dynamics and Processes 23-26 The Incidence offactions 26-2 7 The Nature of Dissent 2 7-28 Factions and the CPP 28-34 Conclusion 34 Chapter 2: A Short history of Conservative dissent on Europe since 1957 35-65 Introduction 35 195 7-1970 35-3 6 1970-1974 3 6-43 1974-1979 43-44 1979-1987 45-48 1988-1990 48-49 1991-1997 49-61 Conclusion 61 Chronology of events 62-65 Chapter 3: The Euro-sceptic Members of the CPF 66-100 Introduction - 66-68 The Identities of the CPP Euro-sceptics 68 Entry to the Europeans Communities 1971-2 68-70 The SEA 1986 70-71 The Maastricht Treaty 1992-3 71-78 The European Finance Bill 28 November 1994 78-79 Rebel Profiles 79-8 7 Variable 1: Prior record of Dissension on European Issues 80-81 Variable 2: Social Profile of the Euro-rebels - Age 8 1-83 Variable 3: Social Profile of the Euro-sceptics - Education 83-84 Variable 4: The size of an MP 's majority 84 Variable 5: Ideological Preferences of the Euro-sceptics 88-8 7 The Academic view of the CPP Euro-sceptics 8 7-88 Treatment of the CPP Euro-sceptics by the Press 88-90 The Conservative Party View of their Euro-sceptic MPs 90-92 Self-perceptions of the CPP Euro-sceptics 92-99 Conclusion 99-100 Chapter 4: Issues and Motivations 101-128 Introduction 101-1 02 The debates of Britain's application for entry to the EEC 1971-2 1 02-107 Heath's management of the issue 107-109 Domestic Considerations 109-111 A fundamentalist view 111 The debates of the Single European Act 111-113 The Party leadership 113 The Maastricht debates 114-123 4 The European Finance Bill 123-126 Conclusion 12 7-128 Chapter 5: The Structure and organisation of Conservative Euro-sceptic 129-1 62 Parliamentary opposition: intra-party groups and Independents Introduction 129 Conservative Opposition to the European Communities Bill 1971-2 130 The 1970 Group 130-134 Level of organisation 134-136 The SEA and the Conservative European Reform Group 13 6-138 Structure and organisation 138-139 The formation of a Conservative Euro-sceptic group in opposition to the 140-143 Maastricht Treaty Membership of the Fresh Start Group 143-146 Group organisation and structure 146-15 7 Leader 146-147 Whips 14 7-148 Other roles within Fresh Start 148-149 The FSG - meetings 149-15 7 Other Euro-sceptics of the CPP 15 7-158 The Independents 158-1 60 The Rebel Group of nine whipless Conservative Euro-sceptics 160-1 62 Conclusion 162 Chapter 6: An analysis of Euro-sceptic opposition 1 63-198 Introduction 163 Intra-parly Dissent 163-165 19 71-2 European Communities Bill 166 The 1970 Group 167-173 The SEA: Euro-sceptic opposition 1986 1 73-1 75 Conservative organised opposition to the Maastricht Treaty 1 75-1 76 The Independent Conservative anti-Maastricht MPs 176 Activities of the FSG: Organisation, Strategies and Tactics 177-180 The debates of the Maastricht Treaty - Second reading 180-18 1 The Paving Motion 181-184 Third Reading 184-186 The Social Chapter 186-189 The Vote of Confidence -23 July 1993 189-191 Conclusion: The success of the Fresh Start Group 191-193 Opposition to the European Finance Bill November 1994: Strategies 193-19 7 and tactics Conclusion 19 7-198 Chapter 7: Constraints to and impetus for Conservative Euro-sceptic 199-241 opposition Introduction 199 1. The CPP Whips 2 00-203 The European Communities Bill 1971-2 203-205 The Single European Act 205-206 The Maastricht Treaty 206-209 The European Finance Bill 209-210 2. Career Asp irations 210-2 13 3. Constituency Associations 213 The European Communities Bill 1971-2 213-215 The Single European Act 215-216 The Maastricht Treaty debates 216-219 The European Finance Bill 2 19-220 4. Party loyalty Peer and Pressure 220-223 5. The Party Leader 223 Edward Heath 224-226 Margaret Thatcher 22 6-228 John Major 228-232 European Finance Bill 232-233 6. Votes of Confidence 233-234 Maastricht - Votes of Confidence 234-237 7. Other Constraints to opposition 237-238 8. The Size of the Government's majority 238-240 Conclusion 240-241 Chapter 8: Conclusion - An 'Anti-European 'faction within the CPP? 242-271 Introduction 242 Britain's integration with the EU - An issue of Conservative intra- 242-244 parliamentary party dissent Are the Conservative Euro-sceptic an intra-party faction? 245 The 1971-2 Conservative anti-market MPs - an intra-parly tendency? 245-24 7 The 1971-2 anti-market Conservative MPs - an intra-party faction? 248-249 Conservative parliamentary opponents of the SEA - A latent Euro- 249 sceptic faction The Fresh Start Group - A Conservative Euro-sceptic faction 249-250 The activities of the Fresh Start Group and contingent factional criteria 250-254 Factional Ideology 254-255 Factional Leadership 255-256 Factional Technical Expertise 257 Factional Cadres and Communication Networks 25 7-258 Factional Rewards 258 Sub-factions 258-260 The implications of afactional CPP 261-2 62 Responsive Party leadersh:p 2 62-2 65 A provisionalframework offactional activity? 264-2 65 A factional party 266-269 The outcome 269-2 71 Appendix 1 272-273 Bibliography 274-284 List of Tables and illustrative materials Table 1.1 Summary ofNecessary and Contingent Characteristics of Party Entities. 14-15 Table 3.1 Summary of Conservative anti-market MP 's voting on the European 69 Communities Act 19 71-2 Table 3.2 Summary of Conservative anti-market MP 's voting on the European 70 Communities Act 1971-2 Table 3.3 Rebel League table of the Euro-sceptics Voting Behaviour across the Seven 73-74 Main Debates on the Maastricht Bill. Table 3.4: The Conservative Maastricht rebel league table according to Teresa 75 Gorman MP. Table 3.5 Summary of Euro-sceptic voting during debates on the Maastricht Treaty 77-78 199 1-2. Table 3.6 Conservative rebels of the EFB debate. 79 Table 3.7 Conservative MPs with Oxbridge education. 84 Chart 3.1 Comparison Age Ranges of Maastricht Euro-sceptics, the PCP and FSG 82 Chart 3.2 % Constituency majority of Maastricht Euro-sceptic MPs at 1992 election V 84 PCP Table 4.1 Themes in House of Commons Debate on EC Entry, July and October 1971: 103 The Conservative Euro-sceptics Table 4.2 Content analysis of interview data. Issues raised by of Conservative MPs who 104 opposed EEC entry during 19 71-2 Table 4.3 Content analysis of the issues raised by Conservative Antis during 106 Second reading of EC Bill, 1972 Table 4.4 Content analysis of the issues raised by Conservative Antis during 107 Third Reading of EC Bill, 13 July 1972.