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|
Preamble |
Chapters
- Salaries and Taxation
- Pensions
- Benefits
- Health and Care
- Education
- Housing
- Employment
- Trades Unions and Labour Laws
- Trade and Industry
- Transport
- Energy
- Environment
- Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
- Crime
- Legal System
- Immigration and Asylum
- Local Government
- Devolution and Regional Government
- Parliament and Democracy
- Media
- Freedom of Information and Privacy
- Northern Ireland
- European Union
- Foreign Policy
- Defence and Disarmament
- Conclusions
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| Under the Tories, the EU was welcomed as a large market for trading, but resented when it extended into other areas - though this was always eventually accepted, as when they signed the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty. They refused to sign the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty, saying that it reduced economic dynamism and competitiveness; but they also influenced these agreements, making them more monetarist. They opposed each stage of further integration as a creeping loss of sovereignty, with the decision on whether to drop the pound for the euro becoming a defining issue for many Tories. |
| Labour policy was: |
| 1 |
For a more democratic and accountable EU with more power to the parliament |
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| 2 |
To sign the Social Chapter and take a lead in further developing EU social policy |
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| 3 |
To seek greater influence in the EU by co-operation rather than opting out |
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| 4 |
To oppose the monetarist aspects of Maastricht, which limited economic freedoms,(?) |
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| 5 |
To compete for business on a level playing field, not by undercutting others on wages and conditions(?) |
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| 6 |
To seek democratic control over the European Central Bank (ECB), so that economic policy was not dictated by financiers' interests |
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| 7 |
On the euro? |
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| In fact under New Labour: |
| 1 |
Little attempt was apparently made to move power to the parliament from the European Commission which we do not elect and which meets in secret |
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| 2 |
The Social Chapter was signed, but still with opt-outs?, and a later charter of rights was dismissed as having the legal standing of the Beano |
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| 3 |
The Tories' court actions against the EU were continued (see Benefits and Trades Unions and Labour Laws) |
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| 4 |
Monetarist rules were accepted, allowing PFI to be presented as "the only game in town", and we supported the Lisbon Treaty which made the EU more monetarist |
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| 5 |
All of the above show a continued reliance on undercutting other countries |
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| 6 |
The ECB model was accepted and was used for the Bank of England |
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| 7 |
A decision on the euro was delayed |
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| In addition: |
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We lost the ability to veto the establishment of a 2-speed EU, with the UK in the slow lane |
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A new law meant that, in any referendum on the euro, any EU-based company would be able to finance advertising, a change which favoured the "Yes" campaign |
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The UK led the drive for EU enlargement |
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