Foreign relations 1951-64- Relations with, and policies towards, USA and USSR

• Relations and policies dominated by the early years of the Cold War 
• Though Britain, USA and the Soviet Union had been allies during the Second World War, in the post-war period Britain and the United States remained allies and opposed the expansion of communism across Europe 
• In 1949, Britain had become a founder of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) for the purpose of collective defence against aggression
• A substantial amount of British troops were stationed in West Germany 

• Supported the United nations in Korea 
• Britain worked with the United States to sustain West Berlin 
• Macmillan established a close relationship with Kennedy, President Eisenhower's successor, and he kept Macmillan informed about events of the Cuban Missile Crisis 

- The Cuban Missile Crisis occured when Cuba, a communist state, requested the USSR to station nuclear weapons in Cuba

- The United States feared this as Cuba was only 90 miles away so set up a blockade to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba 

- Tense negotiations resulted in Soviets withdrawing weapons from Cuba 

- The United States also secretly agreed to withdraw weapons from Turkey and Italy (closest world ever came to nuclear war) 

• Britain feared the spread of communism so policies and relations towards the USSR were tense and difficult
• Britain was a founder of NATO and had troops stationed in West Berlin
• Supported the United Nations in Korea, rather than the Soviet Union 
• Supported the United States in sustaining West Berlin, worked against Russia 
• Yet, Macmillan was involved for plans in a summit conference with Soviet leader Krushchev 1960 

The Burgess and Maclean affair 

• Burgess and Maclean were officers in the British Intelligence who defected to the Soviet Union in 1951 
• There were concerns about finding the Third Man who had tipped them off 
• British spies had been leaking vital secrets to Moscow 
• This deeply worried the Americans who became less inclined to share intelligence secrets with Britain 

Britain's relationship with the EEC 

The Suez Crisis 

• America opposed British military action in Egypt 
• Britain was not strong enough to stand up to American pressure in 1956 so it plunged into a serious financial crisis 

However, Britain relied on the USA as it was militarily overstretched and relied on American power, demonstrated by the costs of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent