1. Euroscepticism, sovereignty and Britishness

2. 1. Sovereignty, governance and euroscepticism
1.1 3 dimensions to sovereignty in UK-EU relations:
sovereignty as a political principle : parliamentary sovereignty
popular sovereignty
economic sovereignty

3. 1.2 Multi-level governance and national sovereignty
Differentiated Polity Model (DPM)
British Political Tradition (BPT

4. Antony Giddens’ Third Way philosophy
2. New Labour and “cherry picking” to prioritise British national interest
Antony Giddens’ Third Way philosophy
an approach to Europe that prioritises the national interest.
Ex : European asylum and immigration policy,
Blair’s goal : efficient governance.
Limits of this view : European Court of Justice.

5. 3. Euroscepticism and popular sovereignty : the Conservatives
the ‘otherness’ of the European Union / nationhood.
social policy and employment : taking back powers from Europe.
the issue of asylum and immigration
Popular sovereignty.
This was shown with the requests for referendum on Europe.
the Maastricht rebellion in 1993
European Act 2011:
Against elites Cameron’s decision to withdraw Conservative MEPs from the centre right European People’s Party following the 2009 European elections

6. Attitude to Europe : defensive against Brussels’ incursions into Britishness.
Cf Hague’s tribute to Conservative MEPs (25th April 2009, Cheltenham, to the Conservative Party)
“They have delivered by preventing unnecessary interference from Brussels in people’s lives: on keeping traditional British loaves and pints of milk in our shops, our old organs in our churches and our narrow boats in our canals. They’ve stood up for local producers and businesses by winning special status for British produce, including, Stilton Cheese, Cumberland sausages, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish pasties, and Newcastle Brown Ale.”

7. 4. Euroscepticism and Anglo-British identities
underlying Euroscepticism is a strong feeling of Britishness
Ex. The case of Northern Ireland. Results of the referendum.
Ethno-national factors. Catholics overwhelmingly voted to stay by a proportion of 85 to 15 / Protestants voted to leave by a proportion of 60 to 40.
Similarly, two thirds of self-described ‘unionists’ voted to leave while almost 90 percent of self-described ‘nationalists’ voted to remain.
Sixty-three percent of British identifiers voted to leave compared to only 13 percent of people who describe themselves as ‘Irish’. Interestingly those who identify as ‘Northern Irish’ tend to vote to stay, with almost two thirds doing so. 85 percent of those in favour of Irish unity voted to stay while only two fifths of people in favour of Direct Rule did so.

8. The case of Scotland :
redefining of national political identity in ways that are more compatible with European ‘multi-level governance’
Cf Alex Salmond : Vision for Scotland in the European Union (December 12, 2007 Playfair Lecture on 40th Anniversary of Europa Institute, Playfair Library, Edinburgh University (transcript)
“Scotland is a nation that has always combined many layers of identity, from the local to the global. Scottishness has always meant far more than a simple identity with nation. It is founded on cosmopolitanism, on decency, on humanity - on advancing ideas and common interests. This is the basis on which we consider our relationship with and our position in Europe. And this is why Scotland is at ease as we consider our future within the European Union.”
Plaid Cymru, for example, have also positioned their demands for Welsh independence alongside a strong commitment to the European Union.

9. 5. Economic sovereignty
5.1 Impact of 1992 crisis for UK euroscepticism: more isolation.
Major’s softer Eurosceptic policy that favoured the pursuit of a flexible, globalised Europe
non-cooperation over the beef crisis (mad cow disease).
5.2 Blair’s pursuit of flexible, globalised markets: Britain on the European driving seat (was president in 2005)
social concerns : the Social Charter.
the Lisbon Agenda
The Bolkenstein directive
On the euro : different attitudes Blair/Brown (more sceptical)
Blair : announced a referendum.
Brown : put forward economic tests.
“Old”/“new Europe”