Backbench debate within the Conservative Party and its influence on British foreign policy, 1948-57

About this book

This book makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the forces shaping Conservative policy-making as the Empire drew to a close. In examining Conservative backbench debate on European integration and British relations in the Middle East between 1948 and 1957, the author assesses the impact of a loose affiliation of Conservative MPs, an organized faction of longstanding and an ad hoc pressure group on British foreign policy making. The analysis of the role of the Conservative 'Europeanists', together with broader Conservative attitudes to European integration and its emerging institutions, provides an illuminating perspective on enduring Tory attitudes to Europe. The book examines the views and activities of the Suez Group and reveals that this faction occupied a more important position within the party than has been appreciated hitherto. Drawing on previously unavailable private papers, the part played by the Anti-Suez Group in halting Eden's military gamble in November 1956 is also explored.