From the NS Archive: The Referendum Choice 30 May 1975: The
New Statesman invited 16 academics and authors to say which way they will vote in the Common Market referendum on Thursday and why.
In June 1975 Britain held a referendum to decide on whether or not the country should remain in the European Community/Common Market. A matter of days before the vote, the magazine asked a selection of leading intellectuals, from Margaret Drabble and Kenneth Tynan to AJP Taylor and AJ Ayer, which way they would vote. The reasoning behind the decisions was remarkably consistent with that given by Leavers and Remainers in the referendum of 2016. This is not, however, a case of plus ça change – in 1975 the out-of-Europe voices were on the left and the most fervent stay-inners were on the right.