Confessions of a Eurosceptic

The former politician details his career while offering an insider’s look at Britain’s European involvement in the 1980s and ‘90s in this personal memoir.

Few are better placed to write on Britain's relations with the European Union than David Heathcoat-Amory. In describing his own journey from initial enthusiasm for a Common Market to rejection of the EU, he gives an insider’s view of the delusions and deceits which surround the European question.

As a Member of Parliament, Minister of State and Privy Councillor, Heathcoat-Amory witnessed two prime Ministers wresting with the ‘elephant in the room’. He describes Margaret Thatcher’s struggles against EU control and the clashes with cabinet colleagues which split the Conservative Party and brought her down. Under John Major, David Heathcoat-Amory played a pivotal role in the parliamentary battles over the Maastricht Treaty. As Minister of State for Europe he was intimately involved in keeping Britain out of the euro, thereby avoiding the worst of the current devasting financial crisis. He resigned as Paymaster General in 1996 on a matter of principle.

In Opposition, he was sent by the House of Commons to negotiate a Constitution for Europe, which he opposed with a small group of dissidents from other EU countries. As they predicted, the European Constitution was decisively rejected in referendums in France and Holland but was forced through anyway, with Blair’s government refusing a referendum at home.

The book includes a blueprint for a radically new relationship between Britain and the EU. The Author argues that, with leadership and ambition, this is now attainable, with the final decision resting with the people in a referendum.

Praise for Confessions of a Eurosceptic

“An elegant memoir that outlines his euroscepticism but also touched with personal and family tragedy.” —Total Politics

“A brisk and unpompous memoir, which incidentally makes a brisk and unpompous case against the EU.” —Standpoint

“This book is unlike most books by politicians. With unusual clarity this book tells the story of Britain’s European involvement since the mid-Eighties.” —The Daily Telegraph