British Euroscepticism and British Exceptionalism: The Forty-Year "Neverendum" on the Relationship with Europe

Abstract

This article analyses why the demand for a membership referendum has arisen anew despite the precious EEC referendum in 1975. It does so by explaining British Euroscepticism towards European integration as a manifestation of British exceptionalism. The argument pursued in this article is that it is necessary to examine the demand for a referendum on EU membership as part of an, in EU terms, exceptional, four-decades-long debate or "neverendum". The success of Euroscepticism in contemporary Britain means the never-ending debate over the EU is fundamentally trapped in enduring calls for a membership referendum. However, the outcome will be much less certain than in 1975 because the pro-EU camp faces three significant obstacles that did not lie in the path of those who supported EEC membership at the time of the last referendum. These are: the likely absence of meaningful concessions during renegotiation, a querulous media environment, and the rise of an effective anti-establishment party (UKIP) that mobilizes both anti-EU and anti-elite sentiment. Hence the future EU referendum campaign will look very different from that of 1975.