Failure to cut migrant cash could seal EU exit says IDS
THE campaign to get Britain out of the European Union ‘may well carry the day’ in the forthcoming referendum, Iain Duncan Smith predicted yesterday.
In an apparent criticism of David Cameron’s renegotiation strategy, the Work and Pensions Secretary said there was a ‘powerful argument’ that Britain could only regain control of its benefits policy by leaving the EU.
Mr Duncan Smith is the first member of the Cabinet to predict that the ‘out’ campaign might win the in/out referendum promised by the Prime Minister by the end of 2017.
His intervention came as George Osborne prepared to warn Germany that the EU’s founding principle of ‘ever-closer union’ is backed by only a ‘tiny proportion’ of British voters.
In a speech in Berlin today, the Chancellor will also set out five economic areas where Britain wants legally binding guarantees – including a promise that British taxpayers’ money will never again be used to bail out bankrupt eurozone countries.
He will also warn that Britain wants a series of principles ‘embedded in EU law’ to prevent the nation’s interests being outvoted by members of the eurozone.
These include a recognition that some countries, including the UK, will never join the euro, and a guarantee that the EU ‘should not discriminate against any business on the basis of the currency of the country in which they reside’.
Ministers fear the eurozone countries could gang up on the UK over issues such as the single market and City regulation unless protections are built in.
Mr Osborne’s call for changes to be ‘embedded’ in EU law suggests ministers still want to see some form of treaty change, even if it has to be delayed until after the referendum.
Mr Duncan Smith’s intervention came during a Commons debate on welfare reform, which Mr Cameron has placed at the heart of his renegotiation strategy.
The Prime Minister has said he wants to stop EU migrants claiming benefits, including tax credits, for their first four years in the UK.
He believes this could help curb immigration from the EU without breaching the principle of free movement of labour.
But the proposal is meeting fierce resistance from other EU leaders, particularly in Eastern Europe. Mr Duncan Smith, one of the Cabinet’s leading Eurosceptics, yesterday suggested meaningful reform may only be possible if Britain leaves the EU.
Tory MP Philip Davies told him: ‘I commend you for all the efforts you are making to restrict benefits for European citizens within the framework of the law. But will you agree with me that the only way that this country will ever get complete control over benefits policy for EU citizens is by leaving the European Union?”
Mr Duncan Smith replied: ‘The Prime Minister has given the country a referendum on that matter which is a huge step forward for the honourable gentleman opposite and for everybody else.
‘They’ll all have a vote on that and I suggest at that moment you are able to make that powerful argument and I’m sure that no doubt under your rhetoric you may well carry the day.’
Mr Osborne yesterday flew to Berlin for talks on EU reform with the powerful German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble.
In his speech to business leaders he will warn of the need for concessions to ease the ‘strains’ between the UK and the EU, adding: ‘Quite frankly, the British people do not want to be part of an ever closer union.’
He will say: ‘The principles must ensure that as the eurozone chooses to integrate it does so in a way that does not damage the interests of non-euro members.’
Meanwhile, a study by the London School of Economics revealed that the UK is now outvoted in Brussels in key decisions more than any other EU country.
The UK was outvoted in 12.3 per cent of votes on the EU’s council of ministers, it found. The next biggest losers were Germany and Austria, which were each on the losing side on 5.4 per cent of occasions.
‘You may well carry the day’