University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/34787 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 1945-1975 Nigel Ashford. Submitted for a Doctorate in Politics University of Warwick, Department of Politics, February, 1983. CONTENTS Acknowledgements Summary iv. Abbreviations v. Introduction 1 1. The Nature of the Conservative Party 9 2. The European Party, 1945-1951 36 3. "With, but not of, Europe", 1951-1960 89 4. The First Application, 1961-1963 134 5. A Renewed Commitment, 1963-1970 204 6. To Be Or Not To Be, 1970-1972 262 7. Still the Party of Europe, 1972-1975 312 8. The Distribution of Power within the Conservative 361 Party and the European Issue Bibliography 400 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Large numbers of people assisted in the preparation of this dissertation, so I hope they will appreciate if they are not all mentioned by name. My thanks are due to: all those interviewed for background information and confirmation, many of whom requested that they remain anonymous; the librarians at the University of Warwick, the University of London, Paisley College of Technology and especially the Conservative Party Archivist at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; Conservative Central Office for providing access to material, much of which was not made generally available to researchers, and especially to Lord Thorneycroft, Geoffrey Block, Alan Smith and Tessa Eardle; and to the following organisations for permission to examine their records, the Conservative Grou p for Europe, the Anti-Common Market League, the Conservative Anti-Common Market Information Service, the Bow Group and the Monday Club. Dr. William Paterson, my supervisor, provided much help and encouragement, as did several friends and colleagues, Dr. Michael Turner, Dr. David Judge and Maria Stepek. My final thanks must go to my parents for their encouragement and sacrifices over an even longer period of time. This dissertation is, in a small way, a sign that their sacrifices were not wasted. SUMMARY Much of the study of the British Conservative Party has been concerned with the power of the Party Leader. Two conflicting interpretations have been presented: the monolithic view that power lies essentially in the hands of the Leader, and the pluralist view that power is widely dispersed within the party. This dissertation examines the validity of these interpretations with regard to the question of Britain's attitude to European integration from 1945 to 1975, an issue which has traditionally been seen to support the monolithic view. The primary method of investigation in this study has been the examination of primary sources in the archives of the Conservative Party and other relevant bodies, supported by interviews with participants. The Introduction presents the two interpretations and demonstrates that the monolithic view has been widely presented as the correct one to explain the party's position on European integration. Chapter One reviews the literature on the distribution of power within the Conservative Party. Within the framework of the various elements that make up the party, the issue is examined chronologically. Chapter Two examines 1945 to 1951; Chapter Three, 1951 to 1960; Chapter Four, 1961 to 1963; Chapter Five, 1963 to 1970; Chapter 6, 1970 to 1972; and Chapter Seven, 1973-1975. The final chapter argues that the electoral orientation of the Conservative Party leads to a pluralist distribution of power, and that the study of the European issue supports that interpretation. This thesis substantially undermines an important source of support for the monolithic interpretation and provides additional support for the pluralist view of the distribution of power within the Conservative Party. iv. ABBREVIATIONS A.C.M.L. - Anti-Common Market League. B.i.E. - Britain in Europe. C.A.C.M.I.S. - Conservative Anti-Common Market Information Service. C.A.P. - Common Agricultural Policy. C.A.T.O.R. - Conservatives Against the Treaty of Rome. C.B.I. - Confederation of British Industry. C.C.O. - Conservative Central Office. C.G.E. - Conservative Group for Europe. C.I.A. - Commonwealth Industries Association. C.P.C. - Conservative Political Centre. C.R.D. - Conservative Research Department. E.C.C. - European Co-ordinating Committee. E.C.C.S. - European Union of Conservative and Christian Democrat Students. E.C.S.C. - European Coal and Steel Community. E.D.C. - European Defence Community. E.D.P. - European Democrat Party. E.E.C. - European Economic Community. E.F.T.A. - European Free Trade Area. E.L.E.C. - European League for Economic Co-operation. E.M. - European Movement. E.U.W. - European Union of Women. F.B.I. - Federation of British Industry. F.C.S. - Federation of Conservative Students. F.T.A. - Free Trade Area. F.U.C.U.A. - Federation of University Conservative & Unionist Associations. G.L.Y.C. - Greater London Young Conservatives. V. I.C.C.S. - International Union of Conservative and Christian Democrat Students. M.E.P. - Member of the European Parliament. N.A.C. - National Advisory Committee. N.A.F.T.A. - North Atlantic Free Trade Area. N.A.T.O. - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. N.C.P. - Notes on Current Politics. N.E.I. - Nouvelles Equipes Internationale. N.F.U. - National Farmers Union. N.U.E.C. - National Union Executive Committee. 0.E.E.C. - Organisation for European Economic Co-operation. O.R.C. - Opinion Research Centre. T.U.N.A.C. - Trade Union National Advisory Committee. U.E.C.D. - European Union of Christian Democrats. V.A.T. - Value Added Tax. W.E.U. - Western European Union. Y.C. - Young Conservative. Y.E.D. - Young European Democrats. vi. 1 Introduction Discussions of the Conservative Party have traditionally emphasised the powers of the Leader. McKenzie, in his seminal work on British Political Parties, stated, "The most striking feature of the Conservative party organisation is the enormous powers which "It appear to be concentrated in the hands of the Leader". (1) would be difficult to envisage a more tight-knit system of oligarchic (2) control of the affairs of a political party". Samuel Beer, in his classic study of Modern British Politics, stressed that "The Tory conception of the wide and independent authority of Government and parliamentary leaders implies that they will have a very free hand to do what they think best". (3) Official party documents tend to confirm this view. The Maxwell Fyfe Report described the Leader as (4) "the main fountain and interpreter of policy". Hoffman stated that "the party constitution accords what appears to be close to dictatorial powers to the Leader of the party in the matter of policy-making". (5) This view has been described as a monarchical or a Hobbesian model of the distribution of power within the Conservative Party. (5) McKenzie saw the power of the Leader as arising from three factors: his security of tenure, the wide range of appointments within his control, and his exclusive right to determine party policy. Beer found the source of his power as arising from the ideology of the party which stresses hierarchy, authority and leadership. Nigel Fisher emphasised the security of tenure, that "a Prime Minister who is in good health and enjoys the support of his Cabinet colleagues is virtually immovable", (7) while Gamble stressed the ability of the Leader to manipulate the party to support his policies. (8) An alternative, and more pluralistic, view of the Conservative 2 party has been presented. Pinto-Duchinsky argued that in practice "informal manoeuvres and compromise between leaders, M.P.s and local associations are essential to the maintenance of party unity and to the formation of policy". (9) Behrens believed that the huge formal authority of the Leader was circumscribed within defined limits and involved a high degree of consultation with other elements of the party, which.he described as "the traditional form of (10) conversation". Norton and Aughey found the Hobbesian model less useful than "a traditional family" model, which emphasised the responsibilities as well as the rights of the various elements of the (11) party • The monolithic and pluralist models are competing descriptions of the Conservative Party. The monolithic view of the Conservative Party has been supported by studies of Britain's attitude to European integration. These studies have placed heavy emphasis on the role of the Party Leader in creating Conservative support for Britain's involvement with European unity. The story of the Conservative attitude to Europe has been written in the names of three men: Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath. Most studies of Britain and her post-war relations with the rest of Europe start with Churchill's speech in Zurich in 1946 and his (12) call for a United States of Europe. Duncan Sandys stated that "it was Churchill's voice which first called upon Europe to unite". (13) Most Conservative publications on Europe referred to Churchill's role as an inspiration of the European Movement in the immediate post-war period. Churchill was seen as the chief spokesman for the European idea in Britain at this time. The role of Harold Macmillan in the first application for British membership of the European Community in 1961 has received considerable ^ 3 emphasis in most discussions of this event. Lindsay and Harrington, in their history of the Conservative Party, believed that "The conversion of the Conservative party to the Common Market was one of the more remarkable of Macmillan's political achievements, for the whole enterprise stood in flat contradiction to all the traditional instincts of the party, which were for national sovereignty at any (14) price".