Brexit - A love story - A World at One saga by Mark Mardell (R4 2018).txt
Brexit - A love story? - A World at One saga
Mark Mardell has talked to the people who were there at those key moments, trawled through the BBC's archives to hear what was said at the time, and painted a picture of how things have changed over time. Was the end, Britain voting to leave the European Union, an inevitability?
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01 - Fanfare for the future
It's 1973 and Britain is joining the European Economic Community. For some it's the culmination of years of hard work and a political necessity for the country. But for others, concerns about food prices, sovereignty and the English language remain unresolved.
Mark Mardell explores the UK's 45 year love affair with Europe, starting with the role that Edward Heath - the Prime Minister at the time - had in negotiating entry into the common market.
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02 - Yes to Britain in Europe
The 1975 referendum to remain in the European Economic Community was a historic first for Britain. As well as dividing the country, the argument split the Labour Party, who were then in Government.
Mark Mardell explores the UK's 45 year love affair with Europe, looking at Anthony Wedgewood Benn's call for a referendum and Prime Minister Harold Wilson's fight to keep the party together.
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03 - Battling Maggie's blues
It's 1979, Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government have been voted into power in Britain, and one of her first tasks is to reduce the contribution the UK pays to the European Economic Community.
Mark Mardell follows the new Prime Minsiter through negotiations with the other EEC member states - from the 1979 Dublin summit to Fontainbleau 5 years later - discovering how difficult relationships were formed, tears were shed and the controversial rebate was agreed.
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04 - From Bruges to Bust
After her success renegotiating the EEC budget, Margaret Thatcher gave a speech at the College de Europe in Bruges, now widely considered to be a eurosceptic battle cry. But was it ever meant to be?
Mark Mardell continues the journey through Britain's relationship with the European Union. From shadowing the Deutschmark to the resignation of Geoffrey Howe, he looks at the role Europe played in her downfall.
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05 - Up Yours Delors!
Stepping away from this series' timeline, Mark Mardell considers what role the press had in influencing public opinion about the European Union during it's 45 year relationship with Britain.
Why did the newspapers go from broadly supporting the political project when we joined in 1973, to a fractured landscape of discord and - at times - antagonistic hatred? Did proprietors such as Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black dictate the agenda, or was it correspondents in Brussels? Or was it the European Parliament itself that contributed to shifts in opinion?
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06 - Major's Bastards and the Battle of Maastricht
Tensions rise in the Conservative Party as the Prime Minister negotiates with the European Community member states in Maastricht.
Mark Mardell follows the twists and turns of Britain's 45 year relationship with the European Union, but even though John Major succeeds in arranging Britain's opt outs of the 1992 treaty - on the single currency and the social chapter - is it enough to appease the rebels in his government?
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07 - Major and the mad cows
In 1990, the agriculture minister fed his daughter a beef burger in front of the tv cameras to prove British beef was safe. But five years later, the government was forced to admit a link between BSE and a new, human disease.
As Mark Mardell follows the twists and turns of Britain's 45 year relationship with the European Union, he hears about the swift reaction from the E U: British beef was banned, and a public health crisis was moulded into the familiar shape of a battle with Brussels.
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08 - The Most Successful Party That Never Won A Seat
A blustering billionaire playing politics, or a brave man doing his best for his country? Sir James Goldsmith divided opinion, but he united both sides of politics in promising a referendum on the euro.
Mark Mardell reflects on the party that only fought one election, didn't win a single seat, but secured a promise that in the end mattered more. And while that referendum never came to pass, he paved the way for the one that did, nineteen years after his death.
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09 - Blair Brown and a bike ride
In 1997, Tony Blair swept to power with New Labour and Britain won the Eurovision song contest. There was also a renewed enthusiasm for the European project. Or was there?
Mark Mardell recalls the twists and turns of Labour's relationship with Brussels. Could the fresh-faced, charismatic new Prime Minister rekindle the romance? And if not, why not?
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10 - Pole position
The European Union started with just 6 member countries. Over the years 6 more - including the United Kingdom - joined the community. But it was in 2004 when the single largest expansion saw 10 more countries join in one go. And with membership came freedom of movement.
Mark Mardell looks at what impact this had on Britain's relationship with the EU and whether enough consideration was given to the number of people who would come to live and work in the UK?
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11 - Banging on about Europe
How much can one man do?
During his first speech as Conservative Party leader, David Cameron insisted the party needed to stop "banging on about Europe". So how did he come to promise an in-out referendum 7 years later?
Mark Mardell charts the rise of UKIP and Nigel Farage, and asks what impact this had on Cameron, the Conservatives and the country.
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12 - Five miscalculations and a resignation
When the Conservatives won the 2015 election, David Cameron reiterated his manifesto promise to hold an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. Not long after, the starting gun was fired and the battle lines drawn.
What followed? It's a well charted path; but Mark Mardell talks to the people who were there at the key moments, to see what they think the defining factors are, and whether they think things could - should - have been done differently.
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13 - An Island Nation
In 1973, there were celebrations when Britain joined the European Community. But there were always those against the UK being part of the project. Over the next 45 years, there were debates and clashes, headlines and speeches; everyone speaking just as passionately about membership, regardless of which side they were on.
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