The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, was a British Conservative politician and government minister.
The Maastricht Rebels were British members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of Prime Minister John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty in British law.
Calum Alistair MacDonald or Calum Alasdair Domhnallach was Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for the Western Isles from 1987 until he was defeated by Angus MacNeil of the Scottish National Party at the 2005 general election.
William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, PC, DL was a Conservative member of the House of Lords, who previously spent 36 years in the House of Commons and served in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.
A referendum was expected to take place in the United Kingdom in 2006 to decide whether the country should ratify the proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. However, following the rejection of the Constitution by similar referendums in France in May 2005 and the Netherlands in June 2005, the UK vote was postponed indefinitely. The question was rendered moot when the constitution was superseded by the Treaty of Lisbon, which Parliament ratified in 2008 without holding a referendum.
Roger Maurice Knapman is a British politician and a former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
Sir Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet was a New Zealand lawyer and a British Conservative politician.
The Anti-Federalist League was a small cross-party organisation in the United Kingdom, formed in 1991 to campaign against the Maastricht Treaty. It is mainly remembered now as the forerunner of the UK Independence Party.
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside of the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on the subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification. Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies.
The 1990 Conservative Party leadership election in the United Kingdom took place on 20 November 1990 following the decision of Michael Heseltine, former Defence and Environment Secretary, to challenge Margaret Thatcher, the incumbent Prime Minister, for leadership of the Conservative Party.
Kenneth Roy Thomason, known as Roy Thomason, is a British Conservative Party politician who was a local government leader and served one term as a member of parliament. Thomason is a parent of four children and grandparent to seven.
Michael Reginald Harry Carttiss is a former a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Yarmouth from 1983 to 1997.
Antony Rivers Marlow, known as Tony Marlow, is a British Conservative former Member of Parliament (MP).
The 1993 confidence motion in the second Major ministry was an explicit confidence motion in the British Conservative Party government of John Major. It was proposed in order to ensure support in the British Parliament for the passing of the Maastricht Treaty. Due to previous defeats caused when Eurosceptic Conservative MPs voted with the opposition, the Government had to obtain support for its policy on the Social Chapter before the European Communities Amendment Act 1993 could come into effect and allow the United Kingdom to ratify the treaty. Dissenting Conservative MPs were willing to vote against the Government, but had to come into line on a confidence motion or else lose the Conservative whip. Only one eurosceptic MP was deliberately absent; and as a result, the motion passed by 40 votes and the United Kingdom ratified the Maastricht Treaty.
Turkeys voting for Christmas is an English idiom used as a metaphor or simile in reference to an apparently suicidal ("death-wish") choice, especially a political vote against one's self-interest. In modern times, in the United Kingdom, turkeys are commonly eaten as part of the English Christmas dinner. Since 1573 they have been available in the UK at Christmas.
Denmark in the European Union refers to the historical and current issues of Denmark's membership in the European Union. Denmark has a permanent representation to the European Union led by ambassador Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, in Brussels. The current Foreign Minister and Minister for European Affairs is Anders Samuelsen.
Since the foundation of the European Communities, the United Kingdom has been an important neighbour and is currently a major member, until its withdrawal.
