The Conservative Party and European Integration 1988-95

Abstract

The 1995 Conservative leadership contest provided further evidence of the growth of factionalism within the party on the European issue. The article shows that European integration has led to unprecedented parliamentary dissidence. It contextualizes Europe within an older tradition of Tory conflicts over foreign economic policy. The article provides a detailed typology of Tory Party divisions. It shows that the European issue combines conflicts over the Anglo-American alliance, the future of Thatcherite economic policy and Tory conceptions of British nationhood. The creation of a single European currency could be the trigger for a Conservative split.