Delaying The Inevitable
Come up with the scenario where the UK stays out of the EEC. What would be the consequences? A possible POD could be that Hugh Gaitskell wins in 1959 general elections. Gaitskell was against UK entry in the EEC.
Quick Thoughts :
In OTL Gaitskell’s successor Wilson tried to join in '67 but was vetoed by de Gaulle. After de Gaulle went in '69 Britain applied again in '70 and joined under Heath in 1973.
The easiest route to keep the UK out is to keep de Gaulle around, in OTL he resigned after calling and losing a referendum on reform, he died in 1970 of a heart attack. So lets have him not call a referendum or just accept the outcome, we could also allow that his health is a little better as a result.
So it's a great big fat '
Non' and by now the Brits have got the message, asking then being rejected three times is going to hurt the pride. Joining the EC is now a poisoned chalice as a political issue for now.
In the ATL I don't see it making that much difference until the '90s economically. The economy was stuffed in the '70s with industrial unrest, three day week, poor performance. This all came to ahead in the recession of the late 70s and early 80s and it's high unemplyment. Late 80s gives us an over heating economy, the policies are going to be same so are the results, and the wiggle room to make much of difference isn't going to be there.
In the 90s ATL you now get a more legislative EU, formed in '92, external trading partners have to pass appropriate legislation, and make contributions for trading privileges.
eg. Switzerland :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6185928.stm
This may all just mean that the UK is the EU's biggest trading partner after the US and has such a dependance on EU trade that it's a defacto member, currently around 50% of UK trade is with the EU. The result of this may mean that British industry is hit with tariffs from the EU so we don't get the late 90s early 00s boom.
The '05 election would probably be about joing the EU and embracing the Euro - new members don't get a choice about having it.
So ATL 1 January 2009, the UK is welcomed as the newest member state of the EU and the upshot is that we get Euro a few years earlier than OTL !