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Britain has always taken a very dim view of the European continent since the dawn of modern civilization. Firstly it was invaded by countless continental peoples firstly the Romans and then Saxons and even the Irish during the Dark Ages. Following the Reformation in England the island was under siege from the Catholic powers of Europe notably the Spanish. Following the defeat of the Spanish armada England came into itself and began a process of empire building, which it did with great success. However it choose to remain out of European politics unless its interests were under threat and when they were the British always reacted with vigour. Most notably at the Battle of Blenheim (1704) and the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Both of which helped preserve the existence of independent European states and the destruction of continental imperialists i.e. France. Between 1815 and 1904 Britain advocated a policy of "Splendid Isolation" choosing to avoid foreign alliances unless necessary. The rise of Germany before WW1 caused them to reconsider this policy and ally with France and Russia, which eventually brought them into WW1. Following the war Britain reverted to being very lukewarm on European affairs almost ignorant. This manifested itself with Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement towards Hitler and Mussolini. The results of which were WW2. Following the war the British Prime Minister (although out of office at the time) Winston Churchill advocated the creation of the "United States of Europe" at a speech to the University of Zurich in 1946. This speech is frequently credited with beginning the process that led to the formation of the European Union. France and Germany took the lead to create the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). However the Labour government in Britain advocated that it was not in the interests of Britain to join. Much to the anger of the Conservatives. Subsequent British attempts to enter the EEC were blocked by General de Gaulle who said the British were not good Europeans. Finally in 1973 the British entered the EEC and since then their attitude to the EU has been very mixed. In 1975 a referendum was held to decide whether or not the UK would remain within the EU. Current Europhobes like Baroness Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch advocated that Britain remain within the EU. Baroness Thatcher famous wore a sweater with the nation flags of the EU on it. Anyway now I'm rambling. To make my point now the UK is split there is a strong anti-European lobby e.g. UKIP, Michael Howard, the British media i.e. Sky News. The fact that they remain outside of the common currancy as well as playing second fiddle to the USA in world affairs. Now with the rebate up for debate its time to ask should Britain be forced to accept the Euro end the rebate and become real Europeans or leave the EU!
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Originally Posted by hiker
