Tag Archives: European Union

Updated Catalogue: Conservative Party European Election Publications and Election Addresses

Image shows Conservative Party European Election Manifestos, 1979-1994.

Conservative Party European Election Manifestos, 1979-1994. [Reference: CPA PUB 332/1-4].

Following on from our recent cataloguing of the Records of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, we are pleased to announce the launch of our revised and expanded catalogue of the Conservative Party’s European election publications. The collection, which forms part of the Conservative Party Archive holdings at the Bodleian Library, includes public documents such as copies of the Party’s European Election manifestos, as well as published guides for Party activists and speakers. The new catalogue also incorporates our collection of historical European election addresses and ephemera, comprising printed constituency material produced both by Conservative Party candidates and by candidates from other parties.

The collection gives use an insight into how the politics of European integration changed over the course of the United Kingdom’s 47-year membership of the European Union and its predecessors. During the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, the Conservative Party adopted a strongly pro-European position. This can be seen in the Party’s 1984 publication Questions and Answers on Europe, produced by the Conservative Research Department for that year’s elections [CPA PUB 334/8 – pictured below]. Although stressing the need to reform the Community budget and rein in spending, Questions and Answers also champions an extension of the EEC’s role into the areas of financial services and pollution controls.

Image shows pages from Conservative Research Department/European Democratic Group pamphlet, Questions and Answers on Europe 1984.

Conservative Research Department/European Democratic Group pamphlet, ‘Questions and Answers on Europe 1984’. [Reference: CPA PUB 334/8].

Thirty years later, and the evolution in the Party’s thinking can be seen clearly. The Conservative Party European Election Manifesto 2014 (the Party’s final European manifesto, as none was produced for the 2019 elections) placed a rejection of the European Union’s status quo front-and-centre [CPA PUB 332/8 – pictured below]. Insisting that the EU was ‘too bureaucratic and too undemocratic’, Prime Minister David Cameron used the manifesto to pledge that the Party would deliver an in-out referendum on the question of Britain’s membership, setting the stage for the Brexit vote in 2016. The collection is therefore a valuable resource for researchers working on Britain’s relations with the European Union, as well as for historians of British Party politics.

Image shows interior pages of the Conservative Party European Election Manifesto 2014. [Reference: CPA PUB 332/8].

Conservative Party European Election Manifesto 2014. [Reference: CPA PUB 332/8].

Also included in the updated catalogue are the Conservative Party Archive’s collections of European election addresses and ephemera. Prior to 1999, British Members of the European Parliament were elected on an individual constituency basis using the same system as in elections to the House of Commons. The election addresses of Conservative candidates therefore not only provide us with an insight into the course of specific election campaigns, but also serve as a source more generally for how MEPs sought to present their work to the wider public. The inclusion of election addresses from other parties means that the series also serves as a useful resource for the history of British politics more generally, for instance in charting the unexpected rise of the Green Party in 1989.

Image shows the election address and campaign ephemera of Chistopher Prout, Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, at the 1989 European Elections. [Reference: CPA PUB 581/3/4/7].

Election address and campaign ephemera of Chistopher Prout, Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, at the 1989 European Elections. [Reference: CPA PUB 581/3/4/7].

For full details of our holdings on the Conservative Party’s European Election publications, please view our online catalogue, accessible here.

Newly Available: Records of the Conservatives in the European Parliament

Image shows 5 Conservative Party leaflets for the 1989 European Elections.

Leaflets for the 1989 European Elections. [Reference: CPA CCO 508/4/12].

The records of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, documenting the work of Conservative MEPs from the time of British accession through to the 21st century, are now available for consultation at the Bodleian Library. Included in the collection are the papers of the European Conservative Group and the European Democratic Group, as well as the records of the Conservative Delegation’s leadership, election files, and administrative records. The collection, which form part of the Conservative Party Archive holdings at the Bodleian Library, has been made available as the result of a major cataloguing project which took place from 2017-2019 with the generous support of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament.

Among the highlights of the new catalogue are the papers of the Conservative Delegation leaders in the European Parliament. These includes the correspondence of Sir Henry Plumb, Chairman of the European Democratic Group from 1982-1987 and 1994-1996, and the only British politician to ever serve as President of the European Parliament. Plumb’s papers include exchanges of letters with senior politicians in Britain, Europe, and the wider world, and are a fantastic resource for studying the politics of European integration in the 1980s.

Image shows the text of a letter from Sir Henry Plumb proposing a World Food Summit, 17 Jul 1986, with responses from world leaders.

Text of a letter from Sir Henry Plumb proposing a World Food Summit, 17 Jul 1986, shown with responses from world leaders. [Reference: CPA CCO 508/1/53].

Also included in the new catalogue are the Conservative Delegation’s  meeting papers, with detailed minutes for the late-1970s and 1980s. The records of these meetings, which took place on a regular basis during sittings of the European Parliament, provide us with a interesting insight into the work of Conservative MEPs during this period, as well as serving as a source for the wider politics of the period. The files also contain a number of  documents of historical interest, including a detailed transcript of a meeting between Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Delegation in January 1980 (pictured below).

Image shows European Democratic Group meeting papers, Jan 1980, showing part of a transcript of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's meeting with Conservative MEPs on 8 Jan 1980, with covering memorandum dated 9 Jan 1980.

European Democratic Group meeting papers, Jan 1980, showing part of a transcript of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s meeting with Conservative MEPs on 8 Jan 1980, with covering memorandum dated 9 Jan 1980. [Reference: CPA CCO 508/16/5].

Of likely further interest to historians are the records of the European Democratic Group’s ‘Study Day’ conferences. These meetings were held several times a year with the aim of drawing up policies for the Conservatives Delegation, particularly in relation to the future development of the European Community. In many cases the files still contain the discussion papers debated at the meetings, which can provide us with a fascinating insight into the evolution of Conservative thinking on European integration over the course of the 1980s.

Image shows programme and guest list for European Democratic Group Study Days held in Athens, 6-10 Sep 1982.

Programme and guest list for European Democratic Group Study Days held in Athens, 6-10 Sep 1982. [Reference: CPA CCO 508/5/17].

In total, the collection includes nearly 300 boxes of archival material, with records spanning from 1971 through to 2015.  All files dating up to 1989 (excepting those restricted for reasons of data protection) are available for consultation, and going forward we plan to make additional files available on an annual basis under the 30-year rule.

For full details of the material available, please view our catalogue on the Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts platform, available here.