The referendum
Parliamentary debates in the House of Commons (23 January 1975)
TextOn 23 January 1975, MPs in the House of Commons debate the practical details involved in holding a national referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Communities.
White Paper published by the British Government regarding the referendum on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the EEC (February 1975)
TextIn February 1975, the British Government presents a White Paper to Parliament setting out the organisational aspects of the national referendum on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
Cartoon by Gibbard on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the EEC (27 February 1975)
ImageOn 27 February 1975, New Zealand cartoonist Leslie Gibbard takes an ironic look at the issues surrounding the forthcoming referendum to be held in June 1975 in the United Kingdom on whether or not the country should remain in the European Economic Community (EEC). On the right on the rowing boat, Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister.
"Le référendum ne doit pas être le dernier mot" dans The Sunday Times (2 mars 1975)
TextLe 2 mars 1975, le quotidien britannique The Sunday Times s'interroge sur la valeur juridique du référendum populaire organisé en juin 1975 en Grande-Bretagne sur la question du maintien ou non du pays dans la Communauté économique européenne (CEE).
Leaflet from the Young European Left in the United Kingdom (Spring 1975)
TextIn the spring of 1975, the British Young European Left movement encourages its fellow countrymen to vote in favour of maintaining the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Communities.
Statement by Labour’s National Executive Committee on the referendum on the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities (26 March 1975)
TextOn 26 March 1975, at a Special Labour Party Conference on the national referendum concerning the European Communities, the Labour Party expresses its opposition to the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
Cartoon by Behrendt on whether the United Kingdom will remain within the EEC (9 April 1975)
Image‘Mooring is the better option.’ On 9 April 1975, Fritz Behrendt, a Dutch cartoonist originally from Berlin, illustrates the question marks over the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the European Economic Community and expresses concern at the consequences of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s decision to challenge the United Kingdom’s terms of accession to the Communities.
'Britain has never been able to opt out of Europe, and this has never been truer' from The Guardian (9 May 1975)
TextOn 9 May 1975, the British newspaper the Guardian publishes an article by former British Prime Minister Edward Heath in which he describes the close historical and economic link between the United Kingdom and a united Europe.
Pamphlet on the referendum published by the Labour Research Department (1975)
TextTo coincide with the referendum of 5 June 1975, the Labour Research Department, comprising the largest British trade unions, publishes a pamphlet on the disadvantages of the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
Thatcher cartoon (June 1975)
ImageOne week before the national referendum on 5 June 1975 Edwina Sandys, the grand-daughter of Sir Winston Churchill, puts on an exhibition in Chelsea portraying United Kingdom celebrities tackling the issue of Britain’s place within the common market. This picture entitled ‘Ich lerne Deutsch’ shows Margaret Thatcher learning German in the bath, a bathmat with Edward Heath’s face on it close by.
Yes to Europe: The Conservative Guide for the 1975 Referendum Campaign
TextIn the run-up to the popular referendum of 5 June 1975, the British Conservative Party publishes a brochure calling for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Communities.
‘Britain says “Yes”’, by Andrew Manderstam (RTL, 5 June 1975)
Audio extractIn a referendum held on 5 June 1975, the British people vote overwhelmingly in favour of the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the European Communities.
The British referendum (5 June 1975)
ImageMargaret Thatcher, leader of the Conservative opposition, leaving the polling station on the occasion of the popular referendum, held on 5 June 1975, to decide on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Communities.
Cartoon by Mussil on the British referendum (June 1975)
ImageIn June 1975, the German cartoonist, Mussil, refers to the victory of the ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum held in the United Kingdom on whether the country should remain in the European Economic Community (EEC).
Cartoon by Plantu on the British referendum (June 1975)
Image‘What did you vote for?’ ‘Was there a vote???’ ‘Well, yes! In favour Europe!’ ‘What’s Europe?’ In June 1975, commenting on the referendum held in the United Kingdom on the country’s continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), the French cartoonist, Plantu, takes an ironic look at the attitude of the British people to the EEC.
Cartoon by Behrendt on United Kingdom's decision to stay in the European Economic Community (7 June 1975)
ImageOn 5 June 1975, the 'yes' vote wins the British referendum on the issue of the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC). Two days later, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung welcomes the fact that 'the family is growing' and shows united Europe's pleasure at the fact that the United Kingdom, with its strong points and shortfalls, is to remain part of the Community.
The front page of the British daily newspaper Daily Mail (7 June 1975)
ImageOn 7 June 1975, the British Conservative tabloid the Daily Mail leads with the triumph of the ‘Yes' vote in the referendum on whether to stay in the European Economic Community (EEC) organised in the United Kingdom two days earlier.
'Wilson's victory' from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (7 June 1975)
TextTwo days after the popular referendum on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Economic Community, German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung analyses the impact of the vote on UK politics.
"Comportez-vous donc en Européens !" dans The Financial Times (7 juin 1975)
TextDeux jours après le résultat positif du référendum populaire sur le maintien du Royaume-Uni dans la Communauté économique européenne (CEE), le périodique anglais The Financial Times exhorte le gouvernement britannique à coopérer pleinement avec ses partenaires européens.
Statement by Harold Wilson (London, 9 June 1975)
TextIn a statement to the House of Commons on 9 June 1975, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson comments on the results of the referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain part of the European Communities.
Edward Heath, Mémoires d'une vie
TextDans ses Mémoires, Edward Heath, ancien Premier ministre britannique, se souvient de la campagne menée par le Parti conservateur en faveur du maintien du Royaume-Uni au sein des Communautés européennes.