Is there any way that the UK could have perhaps stayed out the EEC from 1973 and cont'd having a strong relationship with the former Dominions, so that today there'd be less of a British perception of being European and more of the view towards the former empire ?
UK looks more to Dominions after 1973
- Thread starter Melvin Loh
- Start date
Well if the French kept blocking the UK's admission into the EEC, that'd mean that the UK would have to start looking elsewhere. The easiest place to start would be the Dominions, such as Canada, Australia & NZ, as well as the USA. The result could be, after a few decades, a strong Anglo-Saxon-Celtic alliance, both economically & politically, in competition with the European Union. Now that'd be interesting in the post Cold War period.
Anglo-Saxon_Celtic alliance
You use the word alliance, but what would the price be for such an alliance? I can see an alliance working with the government of both Norhtern Ireland and Ireland, but at the expense of leaving the isle split up. This however, would of course give the IRA and it's supporters something to cause ruckus about. The other alternative is obviously excluding Ireland completely and instead align with the less troublesome nighbours Scotland and Wales. Or would this be difficult aswell since there could be voices heard calling for more autonomousy for Scotland?
You use the word alliance, but what would the price be for such an alliance? I can see an alliance working with the government of both Norhtern Ireland and Ireland, but at the expense of leaving the isle split up. This however, would of course give the IRA and it's supporters something to cause ruckus about. The other alternative is obviously excluding Ireland completely and instead align with the less troublesome nighbours Scotland and Wales. Or would this be difficult aswell since there could be voices heard calling for more autonomousy for Scotland?
Evil_evol said:
I was thinking something like a copy of the EEC/EU although closer insofar as the countries involved all speak English (other than Quebec), all share the same legal system, all have basically the same political system, & all share the economic system. Plus they've got a shared history, especially in the 20th Century, & fought together in two world wars as allies.
Now there is the chance that the USA would end up dominating such an alliance, but that's not overly too different from the current situation. I can't see why, though, you have any further troubles with the IRA etc that would be any different from the OTL.
What's more to the point is that the EU would have a more stronger counterpart, that being this Anglo-Saxon-Celtic alliance, in economic & military affairs. In fact no one country, whether it be Japan, China, or Russia would come close, nor even the EU for that matter.
Maybe an Anglophone League of Independent States would form between the U.S., U.K., Iceland, Belize (after 19830, Ireland (maybe), Jamaica, Bahamas, the various nations within the Leeward and Windward Island chains, Australia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, TTPI nations, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, (Western) Samoa, Singapore, Maldives, Mauritius, Cyprus and Malta.DMA said:
Wendell said:
Yeah I was thinking something along the same lines, but central to the League or Alliance (or whatever else you wish to name it) would be the UK, USA, Australia Canada & NZ. Most of the others would be along for the ride, more than anything, although Singapore would be important in its own right. But Iceland?
DMA said:Yeah I was thinking something along the same lines, but central to the League or Alliance (or whatever else you wish to name it) would be the UK, USA, Australia Canada & NZ. Most of the others would be along for the ride, more than anything, although Singapore would be important in its own right. But Iceland?
This basically sounds like Britain joining the North American Free Trade Zone, I can imagine that Australia, New Zealand and Canada would have been willing to retain close economic ties with Britain, as up until Britain joined the EEC they were still major trading partners.
I doubt very much that former colonies would have been as willing to sign up to a Commonwealth trade group. Having only recently gained their independence I can't imagine many African or Asian nationalist governments blithly signing back into the old imperial trade system.
In reality the British did introduce an imperial free trade zone in the 1930s, (effectively reintroducing the old mercantile system) when they scrapped free trade in the British Empire (a sign of its declining fortunes) However its benefits proved to be less than spectacular and it was dissolved after the war.
To put it plainly I doubt that even if the British had been able to set up a commonwealth trading block, that it would have stopped their economy going arse up during the 1970s.
DoleScum said:
This sounds about right, although it'd be a UK initiative.
DoleScum said:
Some would join up, but other's wouldn't. Notice the absence of countries like India, Burna, Pakistan & all the African ones including South Aftrica. As I said, the small ones are along for the ride.
DoleScum said:
Well I wouldn't call it a complete waste of time. It ensured the UK had plenty of resources & prices were kept low. Plus it ensured that the UK made it through the first two year of WW2 before the USA joined. Granted, though, a lot more could be done to make it more effective for everyone involved. Plus this time, of course, the USA is the major partner in this Anglo-Saxon-Celtic alliance. Needless to say, the USA wasn't part of this 1930s Imperial free trade zone.
DoleScum said:
I completely reject this. If the UK was constantly rejected EEC membership in the 1970s, she'd have to try something. The most obvious choice is approaching Canada, Australia & NZ. The harder avenue would then be convincing the USA of joining such an alliance. Essentially, though, we're only talking an original alliance of 5 countries, all of which have common background in their economic structure, politics, & heritage. The members of the EEC meanwhile had little in common, yet they all managed to get together & form the EEC (even with Britain).
Well, there is a U.S. military presence there, and the island was occupied by the U.S. and U.K. during the Second World War.DMA said:Yeah I was thinking something along the same lines, but central to the League or Alliance (or whatever else you wish to name it) would be the UK, USA, Australia Canada & NZ. Most of the others would be along for the ride, more than anything, although Singapore would be important in its own right. But Iceland?
The Sandman
Banned
What about South Africa? You'd think that post-apartheid there might be some push to include them in the English Economic Community.