Think tanks and campaign groups
Ideas of a federated Europe began to escalate around the time of the Second World War with the establishment of organisations exploring what a post-war Europe should look like. These include:
- was a think tank formed in 1945 which to this day studies the link between regional, national, European and global levels of government.
- was founded in July 1948 as an all-party group to support and campaign for greater European unity.
- set up in 1989, its aim is to promote the idea of a less centralised European structure.
- A large relating to several major campaign groups opposing Britain's membership of the EEC/EU from the 1960s onwards eg the .
Campaigners for the group Britain in Europe, 1970s.
Referendums
Referendums were held in 1975 and 2016 on Britain’s continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC)/European Union (EU). We hold a variety of campaigning literature from both sides of the referendum debates:
- explores the 1975 collections, including campaigning leaflets and pamphlets.
- Read our blog post:
- View digitised .
- View digitised .
- Consult the .
Leaflets from the 1975 referendum campaign.
People
Since the Library was founded we have collected the papers of various key political figures and those influencing the public debate:
- contains transcripts of interviews with key political figures from 1958–1975.
- , ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ professor and founder of the Anti-Federalist League (AFL), forerunner to the UK Independence Party (UKIP). .
- and collected widely on issues to do with Britain’s relationship with Europe, due to their membership of various organisations such as the European League for Economic Co-operation.
- was a eurosceptic Labour MP whose personal papers are held at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳.
Leaflet from the 2016 referendum campaign.
How to search
This is just a snapshot of the material we hold that covers this subject. You can find these items and many more by using the following search tools:
- with keywords such as 'referendum', 'EEC' or 'Common Market'.
- for official EU and other printed materials.
- for a range of digitised material such as, and .
How to access
Most of the material highlighted here is part of our special collections, which are open to all but must be consulted in our reading room. Find out how to book your place and order material on our access archives and special collections page.
Further help
If you need specific help with any of the collections mentioned here get in touch with our Curator for Politics and International Relations, Daniel Brambilla-Payne.