End of ‘East of Suez’

• Economic problems was making the remaining empire an expensive liability.

• 1967 announcement:

• British Troops to withdraw from all bases East of Suez
• Singapore
• Borneo
• Malaya
• Persian Gulf

• It was a signal that Britain could no longer afford to be an imperial power.

• The costs of maintaining an empire outweighed the profits and benefits.

• Britain’s accession to the EU in 1973 confirmed a change in direction for British Foreign and Economic policy.