David cameron

Wednesday

The Spectator

David Cameron’s Europe speech: The Spectator’s verdict

Just for Coffee House readers, here is a sneak preview of the leading article from this week’s Spectator. Download our iPad and iPhone app to read the rest of the magazine first thing tomorrow.  It was almost worth the wait. The substance of David Cameron’s speech on Europe was disclosed in this magazine a fortnight ago, but his delivery was excellent. He offered a clear-headed and almost touchingly optimistic vision of the type of union that the British public would find acceptable: one based on free trade, not bureaucratic diktat. One where power can flow back to countries, not be leached from them. And one founded on genuine popular consent,

John Baron

Tory MP: The public will struggle to believe Cameron’s EU pledge

Six months ago, the word ‘referendum’ had not even passed David Cameron’s lips. The issue was not on the table. I would, therefore, like to thank the 100 Conservative Parliamentary colleagues who co-signed my letter in June, urging the Prime Minister to commit to a referendum. In a small way, I like to think our efforts helped to change his mind. We can now have a vigorous debate. However, whilst not doubting the Prime Minister’s sincerity, I am concerned his pledge will not be believed by the public. Far too many promises have been broken in the past, such as Blair’s promise on the EU Constitution and the Liberal Democrats’

The Spectator

The Spectator: One step ahead of David Cameron’s EU manoeuvres

While David Cameron’s EU speech today made all the front pages, it is far from fresh news. Two weeks ago, James Forsyth revealed to Spectator readers what the Prime Minister would say in his speech. But as far back as last May, we revealed that a referendum on EU membership was almost certain: A referendum on Europe is the obvious answer. It is one the leadership seems set to embrace. The popularity of Cameron’s EU veto made his circle realise how much of a political asset Euroscepticism could be, if used in the right way. There is also concern in No. 10 that if the Tories don’t offer the public a

Melissa Kite

Why fall for Cameron’s cast-iron EU pledges?

Tory MPs have fallen for David Cameron’s cast-iron pledges to hold a referendum before. So are they right in buying into his latest promise? Labour is trying to expose cracks in the pledge to re-negotiate our relationship with the EU, then hold a plebiscite mid-way through the next Parliament, if the Tories win the election. But Ed Miliband rather misses the point when he asks Mr Cameron at PMQs whether he might later change his pledge to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote. Surely, the problem is not that Cameron could change his mind and campaign for a ‘no’ vote. The problem is that Cameron could try to re-negotiate with the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

PMQs: It’s Cameron’s turn to have some fun

Last week at PMQs, Ed Miliband had great fun, mocking the wait for David Cameron’s Europe speech. He lampooned the Prime Minister as the weak leader of a divided party. It was a performance that disturbed even some normally calm Number 10 aides. But this week, it was Cameron who was relishing PMQs. By the end of the session, he was even telling Dennis Skinner — who normally brings out the Prime Minister’s irritable side — that he might agree with the speech Cameron is  giving in Davos tomorrow. Now that Cameron has set out his position, Miliband is under pressure to follow suit. Miliband appeared to rule out a

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Cameron’s EU referendum pledge makes winning the Battle for Britain more difficult

At the risk of seeming parochial, I’d suggest that David Cameron’s long-awaited Europe speech and his endorsement of an In or Out referendum has implications and consequences for another referendum campaign closer to home. I suspect he has bought himself some time on the Europe question but this comes at a price. He has made winning the Battle for Britain – to be decided in 2014 – more difficult. The SNP should be very pleased today. Cameron has demolished a couple of core Unionist arguments. He can no longer credibly point to the unknown uncertainties of Scottish independence. Not when he has embraced, even made a point of celebrating, uncertainty

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cameron doesn’t want Britain to stay in the EU come what may

One of the more intriguing lines in David Cameron’s speech this morning was his declaration that ‘when the referendum comes let me say now that if we can negotiate such an arrangement, I will campaign for it with all my heart and soul.’ This begs the question of what Cameron will do if we can’t negotiate such an arrangement. Now, Cameron made clear earlier in the speech that his strong preference and inclination is for Britain to stay in the EU. This seems to apply even if he can’t get everything he asks for in the renegotiation. As he put it: ‘You will not always get what you want. But

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Sketch: Cameron’s EU climax

This was no tantric anti-climax. This was a seismic moment in British politics. David Cameron breezed into a London press conference this morning and proceeded to reshape Europe. The wooden lectern he stood at was pale and municipal. He wore a dark suit and a nice purple tie, and his affable pink chops glowed with moderation and good sense. He looked like a council negotiator arriving to settle a hedge dispute between warring neighbours. The Euro-crisis will lead to the restructuring of Europe, he said. He called for a new design that would incorporate more openness, flexibility and competitiveness. And the single market, not the single currency, should lie at

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

‘Mrs Bone was singing in the shower’: PM’s EU speech delights Tory MPs

David Cameron should savour today as the moment he finally satisfied Mrs Bone. I’ve been calling round Tory MPs, and Peter Bone, often a thorn in the flesh of the Prime Minister with his probing questions that his wife wants clearing up, is happy with the speech. He says: ‘I could hear Mrs Bone singing in the shower room and it included the words “for he’s a jolly good fellow”.’ Bone explains why his household is filled with such joy this morning: ‘I am in a very good mood. A year ago, if I had said to you the Prime Minister is going to renegotiate the terms of the EU

James Forsyth James Forsyth

David Cameron puts Nick Clegg on the spot

Downing Street always hoped that once David Cameron had given his Europe speech, the pressure would shift on to the other party leaders. They believed that once Cameron had committed himself to a referendum, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg would be required to say whether or not they’ll match this pledge. But Cameron has put particular pressure on the Deputy Prime Minister by making clear that renegotiation and a referendum will happen if he is Prime Minister after the next election. In other words, this is not up for debate in any 2015 coalition negotiation. Every interviewer can now ask Nick Clegg if he and the Liberal Democrats could be

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Cameron’s red meat EU speech: five key points

Cameron has finished delivering his ‘red meat’ speech on the European Union and answering questions from journalists. You can read the full text here, but here are five key points to take away: 1. The Prime Minister is a pro-European sceptical about the current EU settlement It actually took Cameron a long time to reach his vision of a new Europe because he was so busy praising its history. We had a whistle-stop tour through the EU’s creation, dotted with praise for its peacekeeping mission first. He was clearly keen to emphasis his pro-European credentials as much as he was to criticise, saying: ‘I am not a British isolationist’ and

The Spectator

David Cameron’s EU speech: full text

This morning I want to talk about the future of Europe. But first, let us remember the past. Seventy years ago, Europe was being torn apart by its second catastrophic conflict in a generation. A war which saw the streets of European cities strewn with rubble. The skies of London lit by flames night after night. And millions dead across the world in the battle for peace and liberty. As we remember their sacrifice, so we should also remember how the shift in Europe from war to sustained peace came about. It did not happen like a change in the weather. It happened because of determined work over generations. A

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

David Cameron’s EU speech: the Coffee House guide

Downing Street has tonight released the following extracts from David Cameron’s speech on the European Union, which he will deliver tomorrow at 8am. Here’s your guide to what we know so far: 1. An unwilling EU could sleepwalk Britain out of the union ‘I speak as British Prime Minister with a positive vision for the future of the European Union. A future in which Britain wants, and should want, to play a committed and active part. ‘If we don’t address these challenges, the danger is that Europe will fail and the British people will drift towards the exit. ‘I do not want that to happen. I want the European Union

Martin Bright

There is nothing new about Islamism in Africa

The Algerian hostage crisis is over and the Prime Minister has warned that the focus of the al-Qaeda’s franchise has shifted westwards. In his statement on the situation, he was channelling Tony Blair, which at least makes a change from channelling the Foreign Office. But the initial reaction from Downing Street was deeply unimpressive. The BBC’s Nick Robinson quoted a nameless, sneering voice, apparently exasperated at the Algerian response to the crisis. It would be interesting to know whether this patronising individual had ever spent any time working outside SW1 or had any idea that the Algerian people have lived on the frontline of the struggle with violent Islamists for

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Talk of a leadership challenge to David Cameron is reckless self-indulgence – Spectator Blogs

For reasons I do not wholly understand, Labour partisans appear reasonably pleased with Ed Miliband. Liberal Democrats may not be especially gruntled with Nicholas Clegg but they do appear to appreciate that there’s little point in changing leader now. Which brings us to the Conservative party. And there we discover madness aplenty. Again. For it seems as though more than 50 Tory MPs are sufficiently dissatisfied with David Cameron’s leadership that they think a change of leader something worth considering before the next election. This, for all the reasons Robert Colvile suggests and many more he doesn’t, would be folly. Madness. Lunacy. Proof that the party is unfit for office.

Monday

James Forsyth

David Cameron redoubles his commitment to interventionism

David Cameron’s Commons statement on Algeria just now was the most interventionist speech he has made since the one he delivered at the Foreign Policy Centre during his 2005 leadership bid. But this speech is far more important than that one because it is what he actually believes; the 2005 speech was written by Michael Gove and was given more to tick the leadership contest’s foreign policy box than anything else. Listening to Cameron today, it is clear that the events of recent days have led him to redouble his commitment to interventionism. Indeed, in his talk of the ‘generational challenge’ and the need to ‘beat them [the terrorists] militarily’

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The Labour MPs who could make trouble for Ed Miliband on Europe

So the Prime Minister’s speech is, as James hinted yesterday, going to be on Wednesday, and in London to avoid any further strikes of the Curse of Tutancameron’s Europe speech. His official spokesman confirmed the date this morning. Thanks to briefed extracts and further briefings over the weekend, we now have a rough outline of what’s going to be in it, which will mean it’s impressive if anything the David Cameron says causes anyone in the audience to gasp with surprise. What is more exciting is what the response will be from the other benches in the Commons. Labour spokesmen on the broadcast rounds yesterday were squirming rather when asked

Sunday

James Forsyth

Why the Tory leadership thinks it can push gay marriage and boost its support among ethnic minority voters

If the Tory party doesn’t improve its performance with ethnic minority voters, it’ll be nigh-on-impossible for it to win a general election in a generation’s time. The single biggest driver of not voting Tory is not being white and more than one in four under fives in Britain are non-white. This is the background to the Tories’ big push to increase their support among ethnic minority voters and David Cameron’s decision to devote Wednesday’s political Cabinet to the subject. Now, I’m always wary of parties talking about appealing to specific groups rather than individuals. But there is something complex going on here in that even those ethnic minority voters who

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The Curse of Tutancameron’s Europe speech

David Cameron’s Europe speech already had a Tutankhamun-style curse on it before events forced him to postpone it, with the much longer delay from its original date of mid-autumn causing a feeding frenzy in the media, in his own party, his coalition partners, and in the opposition. By the end of last week, it was difficult to find an opposition MP or columnist who hadn’t written a whimsical piece imagining they were Cameron giving the speech (or indeed twisting readers into an even greater willing suspension of disbelief by imagining they were John Major talking to Cameron about the as-yet undelivered speech as David Miliband managed to do). James reports

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

David Cameron: Terrorism in North Africa requires global response

In his latest statement on the Algerian hostage crisis this morning, the Prime Minister built on the interventionist language that James spotted in his Commons address on Friday. Cameron said: ‘This is a global threat and it will require a global response; it will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months, and it requires a response that is patient, that is painstaking, that is tough but also intelligent, but above all has an absolutely iron resolve and that is what we deliver over these coming years.’ listen to ‘David Cameron on the Algerian hostage crisis’ on Audioboo