The historic Conservative trend in favour of participation in the EU jars with contemporary political attitudes

The Conservative Party’s position on Europe remains ambiguous – far from resolving the issue, the promise of a referendum has the party all over the place. By contrast Labour’s pro-EU position now looks set to become clear. And yet in the past it was the Tories who championed greater integration in Europe. Richard Carr and Bradley Hart trace their journey from the party of Europe to the party of cautious Eurosceptics.