About our playground

44 years ago today, the results of a referendum on EU membership were being reported. Harold Wilson's Labour government has asked the question "Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?" and 67% of voters had answered "yes". That's two thirds - a resounding victory for the pro-Europeans.

Of course, not everyone was happy, even then, but members of the "No" campaign accepted their defeat and promised to work constructively within the EEC, in a manner we can only dream of these days. For example, Industry Secretary Tony Benn, who had come under criticism from Wilson during the campaign, said, "When the British people speak everyone, including members of Parliament, should tremble before their decision and that's certainly the spirit with which I accept the result of the referendum."

Similarly, the trade union movement was also opposed to remaining in Europe and had boycotted key advisory positions in Brussels and Luxembourg since Britain joined in 1973. In the wake of the referendum, TUC General-Secretary Len Murray said the boycott would be lifted but he remained adamantly opposed to the EEC. "Many of the most important decisions about our future can only be taken here in Britain," he said. Which just goes to show that some things never change.

I don't think we should be leaving the EU, by the way. There's a lot about the 1970s that wasn't great, by modern standards, but they got the question of EU membership right, and then got on with it. Fast forward forty years and the British electorate got it wrong, marginally, after which no-one really got on with anything particularly well. In my view, successive politicians' inability to advance or deliver the result of this most recent referendum just adds weight to the argument that it was the wrong result. I applaud all those that are not trembling before this latest decision, that are still fighting to stop something calamitous happening.

Sigh. A song, then. In the run-up to, and wake of, the 2016 referendum, I engaged in some pro-EU playlisting on Facebook, of all places, and was joined in doing so by The Man Of Cheese's younger brother, Rob Base. Between us, we compiled an excellent list of songs, but the best of the lot came from Rob - here it is.