David Cameron in massive U-turn over EU referendum...

[dutchman]

Downing Street has been left in chaos over whether to force ministers to quit if they want to vote for Britain to leave the EU after a backlash from backbenchers.



The Prime Minister was forced to climb down on his suggestions on Sunday that he will not allow ministers to remain in government if they plan to campaign for Britain to leave the EU.

On Monday morning, Downing Street U-turned over the issue and insisted that Mr Cameron had been “misinterpreted” and has not yet “made up his mind”.

Mr Cameron said that he was “clearly referring to the process of renegotiation”, meaning that ministers will only have to resign if they are unhappy with the deal he is trying to do with Brussels.

The Prime Minister also appeared to row back on another claim made on Sunday that he was confident of a “successful outcome” in his renegotiation with Brussels that would lead to Britain remaining in the EU.

Instead, Mr Cameron on Monday said that he would “rule nothing out” in what appeared to be a message to eurosceptic Tories that he could still consider campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.

The row highlights Mr Cameron’s fragile position over the EU referendum.

With a slender majority of just 12 MPs, senior Conservatives are concerned that any dispute over the EU could lead to damaging rebellions over Government policies.

The confusion began on Sunday when Mr Cameron was asked if he has “absolutely closed your mind to allowing ministers a free vote”.

He said: “I’ve been very clear. If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation, to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome.”

When asked if anyone “in Government who opposes that will have to resign”, the Prime Minister said: “Everyone in Government has signed up to the programme set out in the Conservative manifesto.”

Downing Street sources later confirmed that Mr Cameron was “very clear” that he would expect any minister who plans to campaign for Britain to leave the EU to resign.

[rebbonk]

We will get the vote and we will keep on getting the vote until we vote the right way. Just as Ireland did!

[dutchman]

I've already had telephone calls from the EU lobby attempting to brainwash me into voting the way they want.

Told them I wasn't interested and slammed the phone down.

I suspect millions of others will be receiving the same phone calls.

[dutchman]

Cameron's "firm aim" is to keep the UK in the EU

David Cameron has set himself the “firm aim” of keeping Britain in the EU after running a referendum campaign that will focus on the “risky” consequences of a British exit, according to a leaked document of the prime minister’s negotiations.

In the first authoritative account of his private thinking, the diplomatic note suggests Cameron has formulated a relatively modest “achievable” reform package to secure agreement among fellow EU leaders.

The note, which is a leaked account of a private meeting between the prime minister and a fellow EU leader, states: “He believes that people will ultimately vote for the status quo if the alternatives can be made to appear risky.”

The revelation is likely to prompt claims that the prime minister is planning to repeat the tactics of the pro-UK Better Together in last year’s Scottish referendum. The warnings of the economic risks of Scottish independence was dubbed Project Fear.

In a passage likely to be seized on by Eurosceptics, the note says Cameron told his counterpart that his “firm aim was to was to keep the UK in the EU”, highlighting the country’s importance in areas including foreign policy and defence.

The leaked document, seen by the Guardian, also confirms that Cameron would like to hold the referendum next year ahead of his self imposed deadline of December 2017.

[rebbonk]

It'll all be smoke and mirrors.

I understand from other news agencies today that Camoron is expecting us to take any changes on trust as there won't be time to in-act them before our referendum. Knowing the weasels that populate the world of politics, I'll take nothing on trust. Deliver or get out Camoron!