Elite Discourse and Popular Opinion on European Union. British Exceptionalism Revisited

Making sense of EU membership in domestic political discourse has always been a difficult problem for UK political elites. This article seeks to understand whether the political class has any realistic chance to convince a broadly sceptical British public that the EU is the answer to Britain’s future problems. The majority of the political elite apparently wish, to take Britain into the European Single Currency yet most of the public seem set against such a development. British voters are also exceptionally ill-informed about the European Union, and Europe has never been a domestic vote-winner for UK parties. Nevertheless the electorate is shown to display a deeply ambivalent attitude on the issue of the EU and this leads to a certain ‘softness’ in their attitudes on European matters. It is suggested that hard-headed calculations can be made by many sceptical British citizens and that while the British may not particularly admire European institutions and practices, they grudgingly regard the EU as the best option for maintaining UK employment, growth and living standards. The final question is whether a new elite consensus on the desirability of further European integration which can command substantial popular support will become established in the UK, or whether the balance will swing towards elites favouring a looser association between sovereign European nations, if they favour one at all.