The Political Parties

This chapter begins where the last one left off insofar as it considers the main actors responsible for shaping the political opportunity structure within which the re-join movement is obliged to operate. The rationale for doing so is that the UK will not re-join the EU unless at some point there is an incumbent government willing to legislate for it. The chapter therefore focusses on the major political parties, especially Labour and the Conservatives, with a view to assessing how strong the pro-European/re-join forces within them are, exploring the nature of their European commitments, and their future prospects.