The Political Economy of Integration for Great Britain into the European Community

Abstract

As an observer and undergraduate researcher/biographer of the political and economic ramifications of integration into the European Community (EC) for the United Kingdom, it is my objective to evaluate the events of the past and present to determine the future implications of this integration. To keep this research project as clear and informative as possible it is necessary to keep in mind that in the last 10 to 13 years, the pace of integration and change both in Europe and the world merit that the information used for this report be as recent as possible. Therefore, almost all of the information is from after the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. From 1979, it progresses forward in time to present day. This paper is structured in a "past-to-present" manner so that the recent years of integration can be studied from a political economic viewpoint. Starting with Margaret Thatcher, the more substantive topics of integration during her reign are examined. After the discussion concerning Mrs. Thatcher's rise and fall from power, the areas of integration that appear as most important and/ or most controversial are considered in further detail. These include economic and monetary union {EMU), the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), the European Currency Unit (ECU), the barrier-free internal market, agricultural policy, and fiscal policy. Continuing into the present, the next item of examination is the current economic situation of Great Britain which includes the negative as well as the positive policies being followed by the government in the United Kingdom today. The analysis of the situation both internally and externally which the successor to Mrs. Thatcher, John Major of the Conservative party, inherited concludes the topic of the present political and economic condition of the U.K.