This Blessed Plot audiobook cover - Britain and Europe From Churchill to Blair

This Blessed Plot

Britain and Europe From Churchill to Blair

Hugo Young

★ 4.1 / 5(42 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
HistoryPolitics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to This Blessed Plot — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from This Blessed Plot

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from This Blessed Plot

Mind Map

This Blessed Plot
Post-WWII Hesitation (1945-1950s)+
Geopolitics & Suez Crisis (1951-1956)+
First EEC Applications (1957-1960s)+
Eventual Entry (1967-1973)+
The 1975 Referendum+
The Thatcher Era (1979-1990)+
Maastricht & Blair (1990s)+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why did Winston Churchill's vision for a unified Europe fail to materialize in Britain immediately following World War II?
  • A. He lost the 1945 election to the Labour Party, which preferred a broader international approach over regional supranationalism.
  • B. The French and German governments strongly opposed British involvement in continental affairs.
  • C. The United States threatened to withdraw Marshall Plan funding if Britain joined a European coalition.
  • D. He believed Britain's economy was too fragile to support the rebuilding of continental Europe.
Question 2 of 8
How did the 1956 Suez Crisis fundamentally change Britain's stance toward European integration?
  • A. It proved that the British military was strong enough to operate independently of European allies.
  • B. It resulted in a massive economic boom that allowed Britain to dictate the terms of its entry into the European market.
  • C. It demonstrated the decline of the British colonial empire and the unreliability of American support, pushing Britain toward Europe.
  • D. It caused the United States to station more troops in Britain, reducing the need for European military alliances.
Question 3 of 8
What was a major roadblock during Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's negotiations to enter the European Economic Community (EEC) in the early 1960s?
  • A. Britain's insistence on adopting a single European currency.
  • B. France's demand that Britain sever all military ties with the United States.
  • C. The EEC's refusal to allow Britain to maintain its military bases in West Germany.
  • D. Britain's desire to join the EEC while simultaneously maintaining preferential trade deals with its Commonwealth nations.
Question 4 of 8
Why did French President Charles de Gaulle veto Britain's bid to join the EEC in 1963?
  • A. He feared that Britain would supplant France as the political leader of the EEC and questioned the role of the British Commonwealth in Europe.
  • B. He was retaliating against Britain's refusal to support France during the Suez Crisis.
  • C. He believed Britain's economy was too weak and would drag down the rest of the growing European market.
  • D. He wanted to force Britain to abandon its nuclear weapons program before allowing it to join.
Question 5 of 8
What domestic conditions influenced the British public's decision to vote to remain in the EEC during the 1975 referendum?
  • A. A period of unprecedented economic growth that voters attributed directly to early EEC membership.
  • B. High economic instability, 25 percent inflation, and internal divisions, which made the EEC look like a stabilizing force.
  • C. A massive influx of European immigrants that dramatically shifted the demographic voting base in favor of remain.
  • D. A direct threat of military invasion from the Soviet Union if Britain chose to leave the Western European bloc.
Question 6 of 8
What was an unintended consequence of Margaret Thatcher's push for an unregulated 'free' market within the EEC?
  • A. It led to the immediate expulsion of Britain from the European Council.
  • B. It caused the collapse of the French economy, severely damaging Anglo-French relations.
  • C. It inadvertently led to proposals she strongly opposed, such as a monetary union and a European central bank.
  • D. It forced the EEC to abandon all environmental and labor regulations, sparking mass protests.
Question 7 of 8
Despite leading a pro-European Labour Party and supporting monetary union, why did Prime Minister Tony Blair refuse to sign the pledge to adopt the Euro in 1998?
  • A. He believed the Euro would cause immediate hyperinflation in the British economy.
  • B. He feared a negative reaction from the right-wing press that could cost his party the next election.
  • C. He was legally prevented from signing by a last-minute veto from the House of Lords.
  • D. He wanted to negotiate a permanent rebate for Britain's EEC contributions first.
Question 8 of 8
Which of the following best summarizes the historical relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union as described in the text?
  • A. A seamless integration driven by a shared desire to counter American influence in global politics.
  • B. A relationship defined by constant British enthusiasm that was frequently rejected by continental European powers.
  • C. A purely economic partnership that never involved political tensions or debates over national sovereignty.
  • D. A complex and unstable relationship shaped by Britain's conflicting commitments to the US, its Commonwealth, and its domestic economy.

This Blessed Plot — Full Chapter Overview

This Blessed Plot Summary & Overview

Nowadays, it’s common knowledge that Britain sees itself as distinct from the rest of Europe. For instance, they use the pound instead of the euro and do not take part in the EU free travel zone. But how did Britain’s relationship with Europe end up like this? That’s what This Blessed Plot (1998) is all about. It explains that, since WWII, Britain has had a conflicted relationship with the European project, filled with negotiations and exemptions. With the “Brexit” now on everyone’s mind, find out more about this complicated history and what it might be able to tell us about Britain’s future.

Who Should Listen to This Blessed Plot?

  • Anyone interested in the “Brexit” referendum
  • Political junkies
  • Students of modern European history

About the Author: Hugo Young

Hugo Young was a British author and acclaimed journalist whose work appeared regularly in The Sunday Times and The Guardian. His other books include One of Us, an award-winning biography of Margaret Thatcher. He died in 2003.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App