This episode features Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook exploring Britain's first referendum in June 1975, when the country voted to remain in the European Community. The discussion centers on Harold Wilson's second stint as Prime Minister (1974-1976) and his struggle with both economic crisis and European membership.

The conversation opens with an extended Fawlty Towers impression, using Basil Fawlty's character as a window into mid-1970s Britain - a nation grappling with 25% inflation, economic decline, and its relationship with Europe. Wilson emerges as a weary, drink-dependent leader managing both political crises and personal complications involving his secretary Marcia Williams.

The episode traces the background to Britain's European membership under Ted Heath, the subsequent Labour opposition, and Wilson's clever political solution of renegotiation followed by referendum. Key figures include Tony Benn leading the No campaign, Margaret Thatcher championing the Yes side, and various political personalities navigating Britain's economic malaise.

Harold Wilson's Troubled Second Term

Wilson returned as Prime Minister in 1974 with only a three-seat majority, appearing 'withdrawn, nervous, tentative, apprehensive, not to say distinctly bored' according to the Sunday Times

His drinking had become problematic, with aide Bernard Donahue recording Wilson consuming 'four or five glasses of brandy or whiskey at lunch' before facing Margaret Thatcher in Commons debates

Wilson's political secretary Marcia Williams exercised extraordinary control, once banning him from lunching with advisors and shouting 'You little, you come back with me at once' when he escaped her supervision

The economic inheritance was dire: inflation approaching 25%, public spending up 35% in cash terms during 1974, with Britain needing to borrow £6 billion in 1974-75 and £9 billion in 1975-76

Britain's Reluctant European Journey

British public opinion remained consistently hostile to European integration, with 70% opposing membership in 1971 despite Ted Heath's successful application

A Daily Mirror survey revealed deep cultural resistance: majorities opposed European customs like pavement cafes (rejected by 23%), Sunday shop opening (35%), and even all-day pub hours (26%)

Heath's negotiation was led by a 'thrusting young Turk' who declared 'We in Britain are a part of Europe by geography, tradition, history, culture, and civilization' - though most Britons disagreed

By 1974, two-thirds of people regretted joining Europe, with a Black Country trade union official complaining 'we're just like all those other countries who have foreigners making decisions for us'

Tony Benn's Socialist Crusade

Benn underwent an 'evangelical conversion' after 1970, becoming the most controversial minister in modern British political history and a 'textbook totalitarian in waiting' according to press cartoonists

His industrial policy included forcing major companies into planning agreements and creating a National Enterprise Board, with plans to immediately nationalize Britain's 25 biggest companies using Emergency Powers

Benn's most notorious project was funding a Merseyside factory to produce both car radiators and orange juice, which Seasons in the Sun notes as historically unprecedented before it went bust in 1978

The Times editorial condemned Benn as 'a dangerous politician who stirs up and exploits political forces that will first bring Britain to economic ruin and then use the rubble as the foundations for a collectivist regime'

The 1975 Referendum Campaign

The Yes campaign raised £1.5 million (10 times the No campaign's budget) with support from Shell, Ford, IBM, and other major corporations, plus Conservative organizational muscle

Margaret Thatcher enthusiastically supported Europe, wearing a jumper with all European flags and declaring 'we are inextricably part of Europe. Europe is where we are and where we have always been'

The No campaign was described as 'a shambles from beginning to end,' uniting strange bedfellows including communists, anarchists, National Front sympathizers, and Paul McCartney

Despite public Euroscepticism, economic crisis made people reluctant to rock the boat - 'always keep a hold of Nurse for fear of something worse' - leading to a 67% Yes vote on June 5, 1975