Brexit is like a religion. For example, take a look at Tim Montgomerie's claim that: “We were told we were joining just a common market.”
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When further pressure is put on this doctrine with the knowledge that the UK had debated it since the early 1960s, and they will argue that it was a long time before we entered. 
Challenge it further with this televised debate from 1970 and then it becomes “It was only ever sold on the economic benefits”, “The political side was rarely ever mentioned”, or it was “denied by Edward Heath”.
So let’s look at how the Heath government.
Starting with the General Election:
May 6th, 1970: Heath “We have persevered in this because we see the potential benefits to all in the enlargement of the Communities both in the economic and political domains”.
Starting with the General Election:
May 6th, 1970: Heath “We have persevered in this because we see the potential benefits to all in the enlargement of the Communities both in the economic and political domains”.
May 9th, 1970: Heath “The single most important thing to make an impact on public opinion would be if Europe could speak with one voice on an important problem”.
July 14th, 1970: One month after his election, Heath’s book is published covering political union in Europe. It would cover subjects such as monetary union and defence.
January 16th, 1971: Heath “There are two parts to our policy towards Europe. First, there is the continuing and hopeful search for a greater political and economic unity”.
January 25th, 1971: Rippon (Heath’s chief negotiator) “What really matters is that we create the sort of political union that Mr Powell himself thought a few years ago to be so necessary”.
February 13th, 1971: Heath “Politically, the challenge is to create a unity of action which will give our countries collectively that position in world affairs which individually is beyond our reach”.
April 6th, 1971: Heath “The world is suddenly realising that the enlarged community is going to be a very, very powerful influence, economically, and then politically.”
April 7th, 1971: Heath makes a brief statement on his talks with German Chancellor Willie Brandt, stating they had covered, among other things, the further political and economic development of Europe.
April 29th, 1971: Heath “We are confident that economic unity in Europe can be the foundation of a wider political unity in Europe. That would mean a growing political influence in world affairs…”
May 20th, 1971: Heath “Do we have the wisdom to achieve by construction and cooperation what Napoleon and Hitler failed to achieve by destruction and by conquest?”
May 20th, 1971: Heath “We have the opportunity of building for ourselves a strong and enduring community in Europe, a Europe steadily growing together in unity and prosperity, and resuming its rightful place in the councils of the nations”.
May 21st, 1971: Heath “President, I have long believed that Europe must grow steadily together in unity, and that Britain should be a part of that wider entity”.
May 24th, 1971: Franco Maria Malfatti (President of the Commission on the conclusion of Heath-Pompidou talks) But in the long term the importance lay in the agreement between “these two European great powers” for future development of the building of a united Europe.
July 19th, 1971: Heath “Now we are about to take the final logical step towards full participation in the economic and political future of Europe, as an equal sovereign member of the European community”.
September 18th, 1971: If in this way they could, in the last quarter, of the twentieth century, provide the world with model of a successful political and economic community “then this will not be the least of Europe’s contributions to a sane and civilised world”.
October 13th, 1971: Dr Barzel meets Edward Heath and makes the statement “We must find a way to European solidarity – in all political fields.”
October 14th, 1971: At the Conservative party conference, Ronald Bell paraphrases Edward Heath saying the Prime Minister had said joining as full members means joining the political union.
November 7th, 1971: It is announced that Heath will attend a summit to discuss the future of the EEC, including monetary union and political union.
January 22nd, 1972: Heath “A Europe coming together in growing unity - historians of all nations have dismissed it as a fantasy for generations. Tomorrow sees it born as a fact.”
January 22nd, 1972: Heath “A beginning of another stage in the construction of a new and a greater united Europe. This is the task that now lies ahead for our generation in our own continent.”
January 25th, 1972: Speaking last night on the BBC Television show Panorama, Mr Heath left his interviewers no doubt that he has a great vision of a united Europe vying with the super powers to enable the 250 million people of Europe to speak with one voice…”
January 28th, 1972: The UK government announce they will join the Davignon Committee on which the Political Directors of the Foreign ministries of the six meet to concert their views on foreign policy. “The machinery in embryo for evolving a common European foreign policy”.
February 23rd, 1972: Geoffrey Rippon, Heaths chief negotiator, is invited to a pre-summit meeting to discuss foreign policy coordination.“ otherwise known, hopefully, as the Markets political union project”.
October 20th, 1972: Heath says that the community, if it consolidates its monetary and political unity, “will be inevitably forced to consider how it can achieve a common defence policy”.
October 20th, 1972: Heath “If we wish it to become a major world power, we shall need to be able to concert our actions, and bring our joint influence to bear”…”in the political as well as the economic field. This means working toward a common foreign policy.”
October 21st, 1972: The Paris summit concludes with the heads of state, including Heath, announcing “European Union”.
October 21st, 1972: Heath “Growing closer and closer in every field”. Including financial policy, regional policy, social policy, environment policy, foreign policy, and political consultation. With more policy to be identified in the future.
November 14th, 1972: Heath “We set out the main lines of advance in each sector, the dates by which each step is to be made, and we set out the ultimate target: union by the end of this decade”.
December, 1972 (Published in January, 1973): Heath “The Community we are joining is far more than a common market”.
January 2nd, 1973: Heath “For what we are building is a community. A community whose scope will gradually extend until it covers virtually the whole field of collective human endeavour”.
January 3rd, 1973: Heath “Our aim in Europe must be to build up our own strength and our own community of purpose across the whole field of policy. Our aim must be that Europe can emerge as a valid partner of the United States in strengthening the prospects for peace…”
January 4th, 1973: The first thing to be said about creating a European foreign policy, described by Mr Heath this week as “not a luxury for our community but a clear necessity”
January 5th, 1973: Heath “In all these ways as well as in foreign policy, you will find Britain fully ready and fully able to play a major part”
April 3rd, 1973: Edward Tomkins (British Ambassador) said that European unity did not boil down to a mere mercantile agreement. “For us the Community is a new way of looking at the future – a new European order of a kind to change the history of Europe and even of the world.
May 14th, 1973: The Congress for Europe 1973 ended at Guildhall yesterday with an address by Mr Heath reaffirming the British government’s support for European union.
May 15th, 1973: The goal set for the European Community was nothing less than European union by 1980, and this would be speeded by pressures inside and outside the EEC, the Prime Minister stated.
October 15th, 1973: Heath “Our purpose in meeting together would be to lay down the broad direction of European policy to keep up the momentum towards greater unity in foreign policy”
December 15th, 1973: In accordance with the decision take at the Paris conference, the Nine reaffirm their intention of transforming their relations into a European union before the end of the present decade.
And to give people an idea just how ridiculous the statement is, consider this: “The Common Market” is not used by Edward Heath, because he believed it was so much more than a market, and that the term was misleading.
This is why certain Brexit statements have to be challenged. We have seen that leaving falsehoods unchallenged only allows these poisonous parables to become accepted fact in the face of all the evidence.
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