The Worm in the Apple

From Churchill’s decision not to join the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 to Cameron’s In/Out referendum in 2016, the Conservative Party’s divisions over Europe have been an enduring drama of British politics. They were always there ― sometimes centre stage, at others behind the scenes ― destabilising foreign policy, corroding the body politic, and destroying prime ministers.

With the Conservatives in power for forty-one  of the sixty-five years involved, these divisions contributed to the creation of a deep, grumbling discount with British membership of the EU ― the worm in the apple ― that over time culminated in the nation’s decision to vote in favour of leaving. Christopher Tugendhat’s history of the drama is essential to understanding how it was that the party that took Britian into Europe under Heath became the party that led the way out in the referendum.