How Europe won over the British left

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2016

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

In September 1988, a speech by Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, helped convince British trade unionists to support the European Community.

For years, many on the left had been sceptical of the EC, regarding it as a 'rich man's club'. The Labour party and the unions had even called for withdrawal from the European Community, but as Europe geared up for the opening of the single market in 1992, Jacques Delors began to talk about something new. It was called the social dimension, and one TUC official, David Lea, wanted to know more, so he invited him to Britain's Trade Union Congress. Claire Bowes spoke to Lord Lea along with John Edmonds, formerly of the GMB union.

Photo: Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, addressing the Trade Union Congress in Bournemouth in 1988 (Credit: Press Association)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Witness Podcast from the BBC World Service with me Claire Bowes.
0:04.7	On the 8th of September 1988, the President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors,
0:10.3	gave a speech which changed Britain's relationship with Europe.
0:14.0	By promising that Europe would be a force for workers' rights,
0:18.0	he won over British trade unionists who'd spent decades opposing the European community.
0:24.0	I've been speaking to Lord David Lee, who as Assistant General Secretary to the TUC,
0:29.5	played a crucial role in bringing Jacques the law to the UK. He still remembers the night before
0:35.1	Delors speech when a crowd of tough-talking British trade union officials broke
0:40.1	into song. I definitely remember people singing it and I thought I'm amazed how many people
0:45.6	know the words it was a bit of a surprise actually that lot singing Ferroshak.
0:50.6	Ferroshaka, Ferrozk, Dorme-voo.
0:55.0	And how did you feel when that broke out them?
0:59.0	A little tingle I think that it all worked out very well.
1:03.2	It had worked out well, unbelievably so.
1:06.4	It was a complete turnaround in the position of the left in Britain towards Europe.
1:11.7	For decades, trade unions have been anti Europe. The Labour Party manifesto
1:16.5	just five years earlier had called for a withdrawal from the European community.
1:21.5	David Lee, now Lord Lee, says a strong Communist Party element within the British industrial
1:27.8	workforce contributed to this position.
1:30.9	Moscow was very strongly steering Communist Party people here to be anti Europe.
1:39.0	A strong Europe would be very much a balancing factor to what was then the Soviet Union now the Russian Federation.
1:46.4	They talked about the European Union as a rich man's club but also a capitalist club as a body for the advancement of capitalism.
	...

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