Tony Blair arrived in office in May 1997 on the back of a Labour manifesto pledge to ‘give Britain leadership in Europe’. Later, he talked about Europe being ‘our destiny’. This commitment always had a double meaning: first, to give Britain more influence over developments in the European Union; and, second, to end the ambivalence in Britain's relationship by persuading the public to embrace a closer involvement with the EU. The Blair government achieved some significant, though partial, successes in the former aim, but failed in the latter. As this chapter will show, the chances of Blair ever achieving his lofty goals were always uncertain and, at key points, would have required him to go against his instincts and to confront the Euro-scepticism of much of the British media and public. The main influences have not just been the policies of Blair and his ministers, or the state of British public opinion, but also changes, and more often the lack of them, within the EU, and elsewhere.

During the course of his premiership, Blair made speeches every six to 12 months about Britain's role in Europe. Carefully drafted by his more pro-European advisers, with help from academics and think tanks, the speeches were presented as evidence that Blair's heart was really in putting Britain in a leading position. But virtually nothing changed as a result of the speeches.