--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Britain's continuing membership of the…" description: "\"Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely self-governing nation\" — Tony Benn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png" --- # Britain's continuing membership of the Community would… ![“Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely self-governing nation” quote by Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png) > “Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely self-governing nation” [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Britain’s EU membership compromises full sovereignty, making it less independently self‑governing. **In simple terms:** EU ties reduce national autonomy. Key Takeaway Weigh sovereignty against collective benefits. Themes politics sovereignty EU Mood critical reflective Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy debates - parliamentary discussions - public referendums - academic analysis Key Concepts national autonomy interdependence Questions to Reflect On - What benefits does EU membership provide? - Can sovereignty be shared without loss? A Different Perspective Membership can bring economic and security advantages despite reduced autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Governing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [“Autonomy is about being self-governing: being able to make decisions based on your own (and your family’s own) best interests. 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Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Do we really think that a government-dominated education is going to produce citizens capable of dominating their government, as the education of a truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/do-we-really-think-that-a-government-dominated-education-is-going-to/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [No enterprise, small or large, public or private, can remain self-governing, let alone successful, so deeply in hock to others as we are about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/no-enterprise-small-or-large-public-or-private-can-remain-self/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [The Church, however, is a self-governing society, distinct from the State, having its officers and laws, and, therefore, an administrative government of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/the-church-however-is-a-self-governing-society-distinct-from-the/) [Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/) > [“Self-governing cultures both inspire alignment and eject elements that don't fit in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-seidman/self-governing-cultures-both-inspire-alignment-and-eject-elements/) [Dov Seidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-seidman/) > [The Philippines are ours forever. They are not capable of self-government. How could they be? They are not a self-governing race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-beveridge/the-philippines-are-ours-forever-they-are-not-capable-of-self/) [Albert J. Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-beveridge/) > [Politics is the practical exercise of the art of self-government, and somebody must attend to it if we are to have self-government; somebody must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/politics-is-the-practical-exercise-of-the-art-of-self-government-and/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [It does mean, if this is the idea, the end of Britain as an independent European state...it means the end of a thousand years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-gaitskell/it-does-mean-if-this-is-the-idea-the-end-of-britain-as-an-independent/) [Hugh Gaitskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-gaitskell/) > [In the end it may well be that Britain will be honored by the historians more for the way she disposed of an empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ormsby-gore-5th-baron-harlech/in-the-end-it-may-well-be-that-britain-will-be-honored-by-the/) David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech > [Conservative Party membership has almost halved since David Cameron become leader. The truth is the Tories are financially reliant on, and as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-mccluskey/conservative-party-membership-has-almost-halved-since-david-cameron/) Len McCluskey > [Conservatives believe that a self-governing society depends on individuals taking responsibility for their actions, and those of their family and community. They deride others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/conservatives-believe-that-a-self-governing-society-depends-on/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > [“In 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant women the vote.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-saini/in-1893-new-zealand-became-the-first-self-governing-country-to-grant/) [Angela Saini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-saini/) > [“If we have lost faith in our vernaculars, it is a sign of want of faith in ourselves; it is the surest sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-we-have-lost-faith-in-our-vernaculars-it-is-a-sign-of-want-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Great powers can't get tired, because the international order is not self-governing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/great-powers-can-t-get-tired-because-the-international-order-is-not/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) ## More by Tony Benn > [Experience is the only real teacher and if you keep a diary you get three bites at educating yourself - when it happens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/experience-is-the-only-real-teacher-and-if-you-keep-a-diary-you-get/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Someone comes every morning at nine o'clock to see if I am still alive. I do get lonely, yes, but I have the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/someone-comes-every-morning-at-nine-o-clock-to-see-if-i-am-still/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Middle class Labour leaders are recaptured by the establishment when they die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/middle-class-labour-leaders-are-recaptured-by-the-establishment-when/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Change from below, the formulation of demands from the populace to end unacceptable injustice, supported by direct action, has played a far larger part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/change-from-below-the-formulation-of-demands-from-the-populace-to-end/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/most-things-in-life-are-moments-of-pleasure-and-a-lifetime-of/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [You have to try to build support around causes. It is uniting to campaign on a single issue, and it is never just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/you-have-to-try-to-build-support-around-causes-it-is-uniting-to/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Normally, people give up parliament because they want to do more business or spend more time with family. My wife said 'why don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/normally-people-give-up-parliament-because-they-want-to-do-more/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Food movement organic food stores supplies health food products and facilitate with instrumental support in organic agriculture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/food-movement-organic-food-stores-supplies-health-food-products-and/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/we-are-not-just-here-to-manage-capitalism-but-to-change-society-and/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [I think there are two ways in which people are controlled - first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-there-are-two-ways-in-which-people-are-controlled-first-of/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [People in debt become hopeless and hopeless people don’t vote. They always say that that everyone should vote but I think that if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-in-debt-become-hopeless-and-hopeless-people-don-t-vote-they/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Workers are not going to be fobbed off with a few shares...or by a carbon copy of the German system of co-determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/workers-are-not-going-to-be-fobbed-off-with-a-few-shares-or-by-a/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/no-medieval-monarch-in-the-whole-of-british-history-ever-had-such/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Having served in eleven Parliaments, it would be difficult to describe this as a maiden speech. It would be like Elizabeth Taylor appearing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/having-served-in-eleven-parliaments-it-would-be-difficult-to-describe/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) [Explore all 162 Tony Benn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. 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I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/germany-has-always-stood-for-an-e-u-of-the-27-countries-but-in-light/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) [Browse all 1,648 Britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely self-governing nation", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Benn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-community-would-mean-the-end/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Britain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-community-would-mean-the-end/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/tony-benn-2543_britain_britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-c_2183254.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely…” — Tony Benn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tony Benn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Britain's continuing membership of the Community...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-community-would-mean-the-end/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/britain-s-continuing-membership-of-the-community-would-mean-the-end/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```