The BBC and European integration, c. 1945-1975

The BBC was the most prominent media organisation in Britain between 1945 and 1975. Listened to and watched by huge audiences, the facts and opinions broadcast in its programmes defined national debates. In the formative years for European integration, an issue that would prove divisive between and within the major political parties, the BBC shaped a public discussion that was wide-ranging, thoughtful, and creative. Internal papers show that its deep internationalist instincts, based on an institutional involvement with, and knowledge of, the Continent enabled it to lead an imaginative interrogation of what EEC membership would mean for Britain’s national identity and the future of the country.

Over later years, however, the increasing politicisation of European integration posed challenges for the BBC, who had to manage inter-party and intra-party divisions, and give fair hearings to the well-resourced and well-connected pro-Marketers as well as the poorly-resourced and poorly-connected anti-Marketers. Under these pressures, the BBC moved from a proactive to a defensive stance, seeking to pre-empt criticism and imposing rigid ‘balance’ instead of a broader conception of impartiality. It led to a debate that was defined more narrowly, and a BBC that was following a national discussion rather than leading it.

In its External Services, the BBC continued to set the European debate within broader topics of freedom, democracy and trade. Often subsumed into the Cold War effort, the BBC was itself a diplomatic actor, seeking to explain and – through its role as an interlocutor – support the British government’s European policy.

The BBC, in its role as a national broadcaster, enthusiastically sought to bring together the people of Western Europe and support Britain’s place within that community. The Corporation’s sustained engagement with the European integration project indicates that being an ‘awkward partner’ was never inevitable within Britain’s national institutions.