Why was Britain absent from the EU's beginning?

In this week's podcast, we discuss one of the most important forks in the road in Britain's post-war history: when Clement Attlee's Labour government refused to take part in discussions on the Schuman Plan, which would become the European Coal and Steel Community and ultimately evolve into the European Union. What motivated their decision? Was it Germanophobia, or a devotion to socialism? And did their decision mean that European integration was set on a course that meant Britain could never truly be happy as part of the European project? We discuss these questions - and more!In this podcast, the following books are mentioned:'The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of British Political Nightmares' by Phil Tinline. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781805260356'Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story' by Caroline Lucas. Available at: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16406/9781804941591More generally, buying your books via the Since Attlee & Churchill page on Bookshop.org is a great way to support the podcast. Click here to visit the shop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/saac***Since Attlee & Churchill is a podcast about post-war British politics - since Attlee & Churchill - and is hosted by Lee David Evans, an historian of the Conservative Party, and Richard Johnson, an historian of the Labour Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.