"Given a fair wind, we will negotiate our way into the Common Market, head held high, not crawling in. Negotiations? Yes. Unconditional acceptance of whatever terms are offered us? No"
About this Quote
Harold Wilson captures the delicate balance Britain sought as it contemplated joining the European Economic Community. The nautical image of a fair wind acknowledges that international politics is subject to conditions beyond any one government’s control, while the phrase head held high insists on national self-respect. Not crawling in rejects any notion of supplication to continental partners, a reassurance to a British public wary of yielding sovereignty after an empire’s long decline.
Wilson’s stance threads party and national divides. He was not a doctrinaire European; he was a pragmatist who saw potential economic gains from access to a larger market and the modernization it might spur, but he also knew Labour’s base and many in the country feared the Common Agricultural Policy, the treatment of Commonwealth trade, and constraints on industrial policy. Negotiations? Yes signals openness and realism. Unconditional acceptance? No marks clear red lines on terms affecting prices, budget contributions, food supplies from New Zealand, and protections for British regions and industries.
The line also speaks to the bruising history of British applications. Charles de Gaulle had vetoed Britain’s entry twice, casting doubt on Britain’s fit with the continent. By framing entry as conditional on fair terms, Wilson both resisted humiliation and retained leverage: success would be credited to firm leadership; failure could be blamed on unfavorable winds, not a lack of will.
Beyond tactics, the words crystallize a post-imperial identity search. Britain wanted to be European without appearing subordinate, global without appearing adrift. Wilson’s formula maintains democratic legitimacy: any shift of authority to Brussels should rest on a mandate and a defensible bargain. Later renegotiations and the 1975 referendum showed how this posture became policy. The enduring appeal lies in its combination of candor and pride: engagement without naivete, cooperation without capitulation.
Wilson’s stance threads party and national divides. He was not a doctrinaire European; he was a pragmatist who saw potential economic gains from access to a larger market and the modernization it might spur, but he also knew Labour’s base and many in the country feared the Common Agricultural Policy, the treatment of Commonwealth trade, and constraints on industrial policy. Negotiations? Yes signals openness and realism. Unconditional acceptance? No marks clear red lines on terms affecting prices, budget contributions, food supplies from New Zealand, and protections for British regions and industries.
The line also speaks to the bruising history of British applications. Charles de Gaulle had vetoed Britain’s entry twice, casting doubt on Britain’s fit with the continent. By framing entry as conditional on fair terms, Wilson both resisted humiliation and retained leverage: success would be credited to firm leadership; failure could be blamed on unfavorable winds, not a lack of will.
Beyond tactics, the words crystallize a post-imperial identity search. Britain wanted to be European without appearing subordinate, global without appearing adrift. Wilson’s formula maintains democratic legitimacy: any shift of authority to Brussels should rest on a mandate and a defensible bargain. Later renegotiations and the 1975 referendum showed how this posture became policy. The enduring appeal lies in its combination of candor and pride: engagement without naivete, cooperation without capitulation.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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