EU

Question 1

Key themes and aims of EU

Answer 1

Freedom of movement of people
Freedom of movement of services
Freedom of movement of capital
Freedom of movement of goods

Question 2

Impacts of EU membership on Judiciary

Answer 2

UK judges had to give precedence to EU law when making judgements for example, the 1990 Factortame case was a stark reminder of this impact. The Law Lords ruled unanimously that as the Merchant Shipping Act 1998 was already illegal under EU law

Question 3

Impacts of EU membership on political parties

Answer 3

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Labour Party was the more Eurosceptic of the two parties, with more anti-European Communities MPs than the Conservatives. In 1975, Labour held a special conference on British membership and the party voted 2 to 1 for Britain to leave the European Communities.
Labour saw the EU as “capitalist club” and not beneficial for the quality of life of lower class workers

Question 4

Impacts of EU membership on government/parliament

Answer 4

All legislation has to align with EU law, but it also affected government action in other ways where it made it harder to bail out struggling industries, as EU approval needed to be sought to ensure competition rules were adhered to. The UK joined the eurozone/Schengen Agreement which had an greater impact on policy-making