Yes to Europe!

On 5 June 1975, voters went to the polls in Britain's first national referendum to decide whether the UK should remain in the European Community. As in 2016, the campaign shattered old political allegiances and triggered a far-reaching debate on Britain's place in the world. The campaign to stay in stretched from the Conservative Party - under its new leader, Margaret Thatcher - to the Labour government, the farming unions and the Confederation of British Industry. Those fighting to 'Get Britain Out' ranged from Enoch Powell and Tony Benn to Scottish and Welsh nationalists. Footballers, actors and celebrities joined the campaign trail, as did clergymen, students, women's groups and paramilitaries. In a panoramic survey of 1970s Britain, this volume offers the first modern history of the referendum, asking why voters said 'Yes to Europe' and why the result did not, as some hoped, bring the European debate in Britain to a close.

'A jaw-dislocating page-turner. If you care about contemporary politics, you really need to read it …' Andrew Marr, New Statesman, 'A captivating read, meticulously researched and exquisitely written … Saunders has a wry and gently amused prose style, with unhurried and uncontrived allusions and a fine eye for detail. His narrative carries you along as if you were reading a novel.' Daniel Hannan, The Spectator, 'Saunders writes with swagger … he demolishes many of the myths about Britain's relationship with the rest of Europe on which Brexiters and Remainers have long depended. … [A]s a study of a rare and seminal event, this book bursts with valuable details.' Andy Beckett, The Guardian, 'Saunders makes you feel you were in the room … And when you read how that first battle over whether we should stay in Europe was fought, it becomes a little easier to fathom what went wrong or right in 2016, and why.' Nick Comfort, Daily Telegraph, 'Saunders's new book provides us with a perfect opportunity to reflect on the long, turbulent story of Europe in British politics.' Alex Dean, Prospect

Robert Saunders is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of Democracy and the Vote in British Politics, 1848–1867 (2011) and co-editor (with Ben Jackson) of Making Thatcher's Britain (Cambridge, 2012). He appeared in the BBC TV series The Victorian Slum (2016) and has given interviews and commentary on the BBC, CNN and a wide range of media outlets.