Brexit

David Cameron is having more meetings today to seal his EU deal ready for Thursday and Friday’s EU summit. Though he had ‘constructive discussions’ with President Hollande last night, the Prime Minister hasn’t had as much luck this morning, with European Parliament President Martin Schulz saying this morning that there was ‘no guarantee’ the European Parliament would pass the necessary legislation on the deal. After his meeting with Cameron this morning, Schulz said: ‘I can give you a guarantee that the European Parliament will deal immediately after the referendum to stay in to legislate on the proposal of the Commission. ‘But to be quite clear, no government can go to

With Parliament in recess, David Cameron is able to use this week to focus on the upcoming EU referendum. To do this, the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Brussels tomorrow morning where he would appear at the EU Conference of Presidents. Alas it appears that Cameron has now had a change of heart about the event which would have seen him come face to face with his old foe Nigel Farage. The Ukip leader says that although he received official documentation confirming he would meet Cameron at tomorrow’s event, he has now heard that Cameron may not attend: I was looking forward to meeting @David_Cameron at Conference of Presidents in

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales – and the separate hierarchy for Scotland, for that matter – have long been uncritical, even sycophantic, supporters of the European Union. The question isn’t whether they will try to persuade Catholics to vote to stay in, but how they will go about it – and whether they will succeed. The campaign is already under way. It has been kicked off by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the English churchman closest to Pope Francis and a genial fellow who never met a canapé he didn’t like. He has already said… … though Christian churches will not take position on the referendum vote, Catholics should vote for Europe… … which sounds

Haven’t had a chance to follow the day’s political events and interviews? Then don’t worry: here, The Spectator, brings you the best of today’s audio clips in one place for you to listen to. David Cameron gave his reaction following the publication of Donald Tusk’s proposals for Britain’s renegotiation with the EU. Speaking to a Siemens factory in Chippenham after skipping going to Parliament, the PM told workers: ‘If I could get these terms for British membership, I sure would opt in’ Given the PM’s absence in the Commons, it did not take long for Eurosceptics to pile in and attack the draft document. Steve Baker offered the most colourful

In the past week, David Cameron has held a number of last-minute talks with EU counterparts in the hope of agreeing a deal that can be put to EU leaders ahead of a summit on 18 February. This included a visit to Brussels on Friday to hold renegotiation talks with EP president Martin Schulz. Alas a flag gaffe on the part of workers at the European Parliament may have led to distress all round. Word reaches Steerpike that on the day of Cameron’s visit, the Union flag outside Parliament was hung upside down. The thick white parts of the diagonal cross ought to be above the thinner white parts — as historical advisor

Why is David Cameron having such trouble persuading Jean-Claude Juncker to give in to his minimal demands for EU reform? The Prime Minister pledged, in a Tory manifesto, to restrict welfare for migrants for the first four years they’re in Britain: not as an ‘emergency’, but as a matter of routine. He was returned with a majority, and under British democracy this means it ought to happen. If the Lords were to try to frustrate this, the PM would overrule them because it was a manifesto pledge, voted on by the public. Why accept a veto from the EU? But the polls show a clear lead for ‘in’ – a ComRes

Although a number of rival groups are currently vying to be the official Out campaign, it seems that some members of the In campaign’s Britain Stronger in Europe group appear to be having a harder time remembering what to call themselves. Britain Stronger In Europe’s chairman Stuart Rose was unable to name the campaign he fronts, during an interview with Sky News. Instead, Rose listed a number of alternative campaign names in the hope that he would get it right: ‘I’m chairman of Stay in Britain.. Better in Britain campaign.. right start again. I’m Stuart Rose and I’m the chairman of the Better in Britain campaign… the Better stay in Britain campaign.’ While Mr

‘So what’s your alternative?’ demand Euro-enthusiasts. ‘D’you want Britain to be like Norway? Or like Switzerland? Making cuckoo clocks? Is that what you want? Is it? Eh?’ The alternative to remaining in a structurally unsafe building is, of course, walking out; but I accept that this won’t quite do as an answer. Although staying in the EU is a greater risk than leaving — the migration and euro crises are deepening, and Britain is being dragged into them — change-aversion is deep in our genome, and we vote accordingly. Europhiles know that most referendums go the way of the status quo, which is why their campaign is based around conjuring