Brexit: vindication for de Gaulle but maybe a pyrrhic victory for British nationalism?

Interestingly (by constituent country) support in 1975 for leaving was least in England (31.3%) and Wales (35.2%) but highest in Scotland (41.6%) and Northern Ireland (47.9%).  This contrasts with 2016, when majority support for Brexit existed only in England (53.4%) and Wales (52.5%).  Only a minority supported Brexit in Scotland (38.0%), and in Northern Ireland (44.2%).

Unlike Scotland (where no electoral district supported Brexit in 2016), there were regions in Northern Ireland (Antrim, East Belfast, Strangford, Lagan Valley and Upper Bann, - all Unionist strongholds), where the majorityvoted to leave the EU.  Most Unionists see themselves as staunch British nationalists, who oppose any weakening of British sovereignty.  [Reliance on Democratic Unionist support was to subsequently prove very problematic for Theresa May in attempting to get her Brexit legislation (especially the "Irish Backstop") through the Commons.]

The biggest "remain" vote of all the voting areas in 2016 was actually in Gibraltar.  (Gibraltar’s vote was fed into the South West England regional count.)  Only 4.1% of voters in Gibraltar voted to leave, and there was a very high turnout of 84%.  Gibraltarians dreaded being again economically separated from their economic hinterland, as well as the prospect of returning to hard borders with Europe/Spain.

Growing British disillusionment with the EU from the 1990s can be traced to a number of factors.

Firstly, the heritage of British imperialism meant that (especially in England) there was a deep-seated antipathy towards ceding any form of sovereignty over the UK to other counties or agencies.  While Britain had been disdainful of nationalism within its colonies, its own nationalism was a key part of the country's DNA.

The UK's accession to the EU/EEC was promoted from the top down to a less than convinced public, mainly via Conservative politicians.  The UK probably would have remained in the EU, if Britain's political class had their way.  David Cameron's Conservatives only agreed to the 2016 Brexit Referendum because they expected it to be defeated.  Tony Blair (Labour Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007) also supported Remain, and campaigned for a second Brexit referendum.

While there were trade benefits to the UK's EU membership, the UK suffered from being a major net contributor to the EU Budget.  Additionally the EU historically spent disproportionately on supporting agriculture, which is only a minor sector of the UK economy, and membership increased the price of food.  The EEC was notorious for its food "mountains" (the result of subsidies), something that also did not go down well with the British public.

The UK also was not a supporter of further integration with Europe.  It did join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1979 but permanently withdrew from the system in September 1992.  It later opted out of the European Monetary System (Euro) in 1999.  All of this meant that becoming full member may not have been the best decision for the UK to make.

In the 1983 general election the opposition Labour Party campaigned on a commitment to withdraw from the EU without a referendum but got thumped in a landslide by Thatcher's Conservatives.

PM Margaret Thatcher became increasingly opposed to further European integration.  Her successor, John Major nursed the Maastricht Treaty bill through the Commons in 1993, despite a major revolt within his own party.  Major had secured (for the UK) an opt-out of economic and monetary union, as well as the removal of the entire social chapter from the treaty itself.

The Maastricht Treaty had faced opposition in other countries as well as the UK.  Three countries (France, Denmark and Ireland) held referendums on Maastricht ratification.  In both Denmark and Ireland, two referendums were required before the treaty passed.  Even in the 1992 French Maastricht Treaty referendum, a bare 51% were in favour.

Brexit in part reflects wider dissent within the EU against greater integration and expansion.  When the UK joined the EEC in 1973, the community consisted of just nine states.  By 2004 it ended up being part of an intrusive "superstate", that was a political and economic union of 28 member countries.