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European Union

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
 Preamble

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
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:
1For a more democratic and accountable EU with more power to the parliament 
2To sign the Social Chapter and take a lead in further developing EU social policy 
3To seek greater influence in the EU by co-operation rather than opting out 
4To oppose the monetarist aspects of Maastricht, which limited economic freedoms,(?) 
5To compete for business on a level playing field, not by undercutting others on wages and conditions,(?) 
6To seek democratic control over the European Central Bank (ECB), so that economic policy was not dictated by financiers' interests 
7On the euro? 
In fact under New Labour:
1?We need more information on the outcome of this pledge. Can you help?
2The Social Chapter was signed, but still with opt-outs?, and a later charter of rights was dismissed as having the legal standing of the BeanoPledge partially carried out
3The Tories court actions against the EU were continued (see Benefits and Trades Unions and Labour Laws)Left as under the Conservatives
4Monetarist rules have been accepted, allowing PFI to be presented as "the only game in town", and we urge other EU countries to become more monetaristLeft as under the Conservatives
5All of the above show a continued reliance on undercutting other countriesLeft as under the Conservatives
6The ECB model has been accepted and is now used for the Bank of EnglandLeft as under the Conservatives
7A decision on the euro has been delayed, supposedly on economic grounds but probably until a referendum for entry can be wonWe need more information on the outcome of this pledge. Can you help?
In addition:
Bullet pointWe cannot now veto the establishment of a 2-speed EU, with the UK in the slow lane 
Bullet pointA new law means that, in any referendum on the euro, any EU-based company will be able to finance advertising, a change which favours the "Yes" campaign 
Bullet pointThe UK has led the drive for EU enlargement 
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