Cameron upended by Eurosceptic wave

On October 24, the House of Commons overwhelmingly rejected a motion to hold a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the EU. The vote has split the ruling Conservative party. An equally divided British press concedes that an EU reset is inevitable.

Published on 25 October 2011 at 14:06

“David Cameron rocked by record rebellion as Europe splits Tories again,” headlines the Guardian, after 81 Conservative MPs voted for a referendum on Britain's relationship with EU, despite a three line party whip* against. Heavily defeated by 483 by votes to 111, Tory rebels point out that Cameron secured “a strong victory because Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, imposed a three-line whip on his MPs.” According to the centre left daily, the British PM can expect “four years of trench warfare with disgruntled backbenchers”. For its leader,

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The record-breaking revolt by 81 Tory MPs exposed the party's continuing destructiveness over the European Union. – The Guardian

Having formerly campaigned for a referendum, or at least a return of powers from Brussels back to Westminster, the PM struck a europhile notewhile addressing MPs in the House of Commons:

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It's not the right time, at this moment of economic crisis, to launch legislation that includes an in-out referendum. When your neighbour's house is on fire, your first impulse should be to help him put out the flames, not least to stop the flames reaching your own house. – The Economist

However, according to a Guardian poll published on the day of the vote, many Britons believe the Channel an adequate firebreak. With an overall 70% of voters wanting a vote on the UK's EU membership, forty-nine per cent of voters said they would use the referendum to leave the EU, as against 40% who prefer to stay in. Veteran columnist Polly Toynbee is furious. For her, European…

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… patience with our obnoxiously arrogant, selfish and disruptive behaviour is truly remarkable. We want everything, give little, complain ceaselessly and tell monstrous lies about the club we all run together. Yet usually they sigh politely at the EU's spoilt child as we indulge in one tantrum after another. – The Guardian

A sentiment echoed by Steve Richards at The Independent, arguing that Conservative Eurosceptics were proposing “a fantasy referendum about a fantasy ‘Europe’.” The EU, he writes:

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… is a flexible fantasy that comes to the fore to wreck governments every few years. The real European Union is bureaucratic, lacks clear lines of accountability and evolves erratically. Yet for all its problems, Europe is worth having and being part of, more so now than when Britain joined in the early 1970s. […] [Nevertheless] it is probable that a future significant change in Europe will be tested by a UK referendum. In the current climate, such a referendum would be lost, which means a UK government is unlikely to be in a position to endorse further integration of any kind. – The Guardian

For the Daily Telegraph, this week has seen two “David Camerons in action.” In Europe, the first one “has led from the front, standing up to France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, who professed himself to be “sick” at seeing the eurozone lectured by a country that had the good sense not to join.” However, the Tory friendly daily criticizes-

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A prime minister who tries to prevent his own party from expressing an unfettered opinion – one shared by a significant proportion of the public – is straying into dangerous territory. […] Wilfully alienating a large part of your parliamentary support is not a sensible tactic when you are embarking on a protracted diplomatic struggle in Europe. – The Guardian

Conservative daily The Times' leader criticises the muddled thinking over the motion itself:

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The motion demanding a referendum had three options: stay in the European Union, leave it altogether or renegotiate the terms. The sponsors of the motion appeared to have no view on how a referendum with three options would work and they were unable to say what they actually meant by renegotiation. […] [However], a resettlement of this country’s relationship with Europe is long overdue. That moment is coming. But it is not now and it is not on the confused terms that fell before Parliament. – The Guardian

“Scandal over EU betrayal,” leads the Daily Express, which has spearheaded a vehement campaign for complete withdrawal from the EU – the fount, in its opinion, of all evil. In its leader it complains that the “wishes of the British people have been trampled upon.” Nevertheless -

… this Commons debate marks a turning point in Britain’s attitude to the EU. Now the escalating crisis in the Eurozone and the rising interference by Brussels in our laws and way of life mean that our continuing membership is no longer accepted as an inevitability. The battle continues. – Daily Express

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