Ross Clark

EU over the past few years? The Conservatives’ 2010 manifesto promised to repatriate social and employment law from the EU. The 2015 manifesto promised reform of the Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP), which forces British taxpayers to subsidise farmers across the EU even when they are not producing any food and whose protectionist measures make a mockery of the EU’s supposed commitment to free trade.

Neither of these reforms even featured in David Cameron’s negotiations with Donald Tusk. Why not?

By any stretch of logic David Cameron should this week be preparing to campaign for a “no” vote in the forthcoming referendum. As recently as last December he was telling us that he would campaign for a Brexit if he didn’t achieve the reforms he wanted on in- work benefits. He hasn’t achieved anything of the sort and yet he is campaigning for us to stay.

It is the same old story we have had with the EU since John Major and Maastricht more than 20 years ago: a British prime minister talks tough to a home audience, promising how he is going to stand up for his “red lines” on Europe. Then he goes off to negotiate with other EU leaders, fails to achieve what he

HE ALSO knows that it is not terribly good about standing up for the principles which it claims to espouse: it is supposed to be a free trade bloc yet it is one which, after 60 years, has still failed to free up trade in services and in agricultural goods and which still cannot seem to secure a trade deal with a country as important as Japan.

In spite of all this and his failure to secure a renego tiation David Cameron cannot seem to bring himself to seriously contemplate a future for Britain outside the EU. If he can’t then at least he must respect the views of those in his party who do have the confidence to imagine how Britain could prosper outside the EU.

The Prime Minister has said that ministers will be free to campaign for a Brexit if they wish but it is not yet clear that he intends to stick to this.

Will ministers be allowed to appear in TV debates speaking up for a “no” vote? Will they be allowed to speak from the Government bench in the Commons in favour of a Brexit? Will they live under the threat of the axe in a post- referendum reshuffle, as was rumoured last week?

David Cameron, it seems, intended the referendum as a means of shoring up his position as Conservative leader.

So far he has mishandled the exercise and it could yet prove to be his undoing.

‘ EU paid lip service to

the Prime Minister’