Has Labour’s EU policy actually changed?

I’ve always been pro-EU, largely because since the advent of the EU, European powers have managed to stop tearing each other apart. That’s not a given in the history of this continent, and that’s always seemed to be justification enough. Of course there are other reasons – not least the likelihood that human rights legislation would be far weaker were we not members of the European club – but it’s mainly the “no wars” thing. That’s always seemed an overwhelming positive to me.

Labour, in my lifetime at least, has sought to strike a pro-EU chord. Not with much enthusiasm mind, but the Labour Party, unlike the Tories, was at least unified on Europe, if not enthusiastic. The pro-European clothes never quite fitted snugly. There was always a bit of chafing here and there – the result perhaps of being a party that craved popularity in a somewhat Eurosceptic country.

Crucially though, Labour always realised that Europe didn’t really matter electorally, unlike the Tories for whom it was – and is – an obsession. Want to run an election based largely around “saving the pound”? Knock yourselves out. Not because the British people love sterling (although a sizeable proportion do), but because the notion that Labour would switch currencies was always laughable, especially with undercover Eurosceptic Gordon Brown and his five (impossible) hurdles blocking the way. Tony Blair’s support for the Euro – which he was pushing again yesterday – was always out of step with the party. Now it’s completely unthinkable – it won’t happen in a month of Athenian Sundays.

Labour’s stance towards Europe has always been largely one of convenience. Membership of the club, and good relations with the big beast therein, equals increased trade and economic prosperity. But I don’t remember Europe ever being raised as an issue at any party meeting I’ve ever attended (except for complaints about the “Euro-levy” which each CLP must pay for the European elections). Similarly, I’m beginning to suspect I’m in a dwindling band of party obsessives who know who their Labour MEPs are, and I can count on one hand the number of times (outside of Euro elections) that Europe has come up on the doorstep.

So the cloak of pro-EUism has been worn lightly by Labour in recent years. So lightly in fact that few have even noticed it being gently shrugged off in recent months. Ed Balls began the process by reminding us of his long standing (and successful) opposition to the Euro during the leadership contest (and on several occasions since). The process may well have been completed today, as Douglas Alexander stated that the UK must:

“engage now with the reality that Germany is seeking treaty change that enforces greater discipline within the eurozone, and seize this opportunity to safeguard the rights of non-euro members.”

But is that really any different to Labour’s previous attitude towards Europe? Hasn’t it always been about balancing Labour’s best interests? Sometimes that means the advancement of the “EU project” for the greater good of all EU nations, but sometimes that means opt-outs (including, shamefully, seeking opt-outs on issues surrounding workers’ rights).

As Jon Worth rightly noted this morning, “the vision for Britain’s relationship outlined by Alexander seems to be a ‘Tory light’ policy – to entrench the UK’s partial isolationism, but with fractionally less negative vocabulary than would be expected of William Hague or David Cameron.” But to a party that is largely disinterested in the politics of the EU, and a country that seems to feel likewise, that’s probably the best place for Labour to be.

Whisper it quietly, but this doesn’t really look like a “a tectonic shift in British politics” at all. It’s roughly the same policy Labour has been persuing for quite some time…