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A Matter of Public Importance? The ‘Europe Open for Business’ Campaign, British Public Opinion and the Single Market

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  • Stuart Smedley

Abstract

This article offers a historical assessment of the ‘Europe Open for Business’ campaign, launched in 1988 by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government and related to the programme to complete the single market. The campaign, which greatly increased business awareness of the 1992 programme, was a unique propaganda exercise that emphasized the importance that the Conservatives attached to the single market. However, the campaign was undermined by Thatcher's September 1988 Bruges speech. Using contemporary public opinion data related to the single market, the article also argues that it was limited by the decision to target solely a business, rather than a public, audience. Through its assessment of the Europe Open for Business campaign, the article thus contributes to four areas of inquiry: British government propaganda over European integration; Conservative Party European policy; the growing literature on the Bruges speech; and broader debates on the role of publics in the European integration process.

Suggested Citation

  • Stuart Smedley, 2021. "A Matter of Public Importance? The ‘Europe Open for Business’ Campaign, British Public Opinion and the Single Market," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 929-944, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:4:p:929-944
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13161
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1991. "Negotiating the Single European Act: national interests and conventional statecraft in the European Community," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(1), pages 19-56, January.
    2. Hooghe, Liesbet & Marks, Gary, 2009. "A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration: From Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Paul Copeland & Nathaniel Copsey, 2017. "Rethinking Britain and the European Union: Politicians, the Media and Public Opinion Reconsidered," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 709-726, July.
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