Foreign Affairs

Heath’s stance on the EEC

• Heath was pro- European and his first speech in Parliament was about the Schuman Plan

• He had seen the nazi government's actions firsthand when he visited as a student

• Believed European cooperation was necessary to prevent it from repeating

Issues with getting support

• Difficulty gaining parliamentary approval in Britain

• Doubters within Conservatives- believed in Commonwealth or believed Britain would surrender sovereignty

• Powell was a loud opponent

• Labour conflicted over the topic- no decisive view

Powell and the EEC

• Powell was one of the louder critics who voted against bill at every stage

• Believed Heath betrayed country by signing treaty before it was debated

• Refused to stand as Conservative in next election and told supporters to vote Labour

Labour’s division over EEC

• Some pro- Europeans but Left was mainly against

• Wilson didn’t care for or against and was more focused on party unity

• Labour officially opposed Heath but couldn’t argue against joining as there were too many pro- Europeans

Wilson’s actions on EEC

• Wilson argued terms weren’t sufficient enough but this was still not a good enough compromise

• Wilson promised re-negotiation and a national referendum to keep party together

• 69 Labour MPs helped Conservatives win vote with 20 more abstaining

Labour’s response post general election

• Labour returned to power in 1974 

• Wilson let his anti- European cabinet to campaign for their own views not a party line

• Wilson and Callaghan were both neutral

Public support for Remain in European Referendum

• Voter support for remaining in EEC higher in 1975

• Country’s economic situation showed need for EEC for Britain’s economic survival

• Press mainly in favour

• ‘Yes’ campaign funded by business supporters- survey showed 4 out of 419 company chairman wanted to leave EEC

Who campaigned for Remain

• Politicians leading campaign was Roy Jenkins and most of the cabinet, and Heath and most senior Conservatives, and Liberal leader

• Bigger effect on public than those on the other side

What was the campaign for Leave?

• No campaigners split into 2 groups- those arguing it would be bad for British workers and those who thought Britain would lose its independence

What was the referendum question?

•  Do you think that the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community?

Referndum Statistics

• 17 million voted yes (68.3%) and 8 million voted no (32.5%)

• Margin of victory decisive by more than 2:1

Results of Referendum (positive)

• Referendum was a triumph by Wilson as he avoided Labour split

• Jenkins left Parliament to become a European commissioner

Results of Referendum (negative)

• could be seen as lack of commitment

• Labour was more anti- European and Conservatives against Europe’s influence didn’t change their minds

What was Heath’s reaction to the ‘special relationship’ with the USA

• Heath less interested in keeping Atlantic Alliance strong

• Rejected attempts by USA’s Secretary of State to use Britain as a link with Europe and for USA to negotiate with whole of European community

• Got on with  President Nixon and supported USA’s policy in Vietnam

How did the Yom Kippur War affect this

• Yom Kippur was in October 1973

• USA wanted to use NATO bases in Europe to airlift supplies to Israel

• Most European countries refused as they believed oil supplies from middle east would be at risk

• Put Anglo-American relations under strain

Wilson and Callaghan’s view on the ‘special relationship’ with the USA

• Wilson and Callaghan wanted to keep Atlantic Alliance

• Callaghan and Kissinger (Secretary of State) had a strong relationship and negotiated replacing Polaris missiles with Trident in 1979 with President Carter

• Completed withdrawal from East of Suez despite US disquiet

Threat of Communism on the ‘special relationship’

• Britain and USA worked together despite disputes as they continued to share foreign policy objective to hold back communism

What countries were the biggest threats

• USSR and China were the most powerful communist nations

How were relations with China and USSR

• Ongoing Cold War meant relations between Britain and these countries based on suspicion and near hostility

• USA’s relationship with USSR and China improved in 1970s and Britain followed soon after

What was Détente

Détente occurred in 1970s which is an easing of hostility between nations

The impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis

• US and USSR presidents tried to avoid a repeat of the event by establishing direct contact

• Led to meetings and agreement to limit build- up of arms

How was the relationship between the US and USSR after

• Underlying tension stayed as there were still fears of USSR’s influence of Eastern Europe

• Shown by Georgi Markov affair

Georgi Markov affair

• Markov was Bulgarian who defected to West in 1969 and loud about criticism of Bulgarian communist regime

• Assassinated in London 1978 by poisonous pellet fired from umbrella

• KGB (Russian secret service) suspected of being cause but was never proven

How did relations between China and the UK and USA improve

• Changed in 1971 when Nixon announced loosening relations which was followed by a visit to China in 1972 where he met with Chinese leader, Mao Zedong

• Britain followed agreeing to exchange ambassadors with China

Heath and China

• Heath made trips to China from 1974 and awarded title ‘People’s Friendship Envoy’ which was the highest honour given by Chinese government to a foreigner

• By end of 1970s relations grew and in 1979 Premier Hua Guofeng visited Britain as part of European tour

• First visit by Chinese leader since communist revolution