Cold War

Sunday

21 February 2016

Blow to Cameron as Boris backs Brexit

David Cameron used to always remind people who asked him about what Boris would do in the referendum that the London Mayor had never advocated Britain leaving the European Union. But tonight, Boris will do exactly that. He will become the highest profile politician to back Brexit. Boris’s decision shakes up this referendum campaign. The IN campaign have long seen a swing to IN among Tory voters as the key to them securing a decisive victory. They believed that Cameron and pretty much all the Tory party endorsing the deal would provide that. But they cautioned that if Boris went the other way, the Cameron effect would be pretty much

Douglas Murray

The EU 'deal' is a political stitch-up

Almost everything about the EU debate so far has been a fraud. The ‘Remain’ campaign has lied to the public about what David Cameron achieved in his ‘renegotiation’. They have lied about the consequences of leaving the EU, in the hope of terrifying us into staying. And now they are rushing us towards a referendum because the later they leave it the less likely it is that they will get the answer they want. An innocent might rub their eyes in disbelief that a Conservative Prime Minister with the connivance of nearly the entire political class could be trying to bounce us into such a decision. But there it is.

Isabel Hardman

Pro-Brexit ministers unpick Cameron's EU deal

Cabinet ministers are now free to campaign in the EU referendum, and inevitably the pro-Brexit bunch have all given interviews or penned pieces in the press about why they want to leave the European Union. Chris Grayling today tells the Sunday Times that David Cameron’s renegotiation ‘doesn’t go far enough’ and can be overturned by the European Parliament, and points out that for all the fuss about the emergency brake on migrant benefits, the introduction of the living wage will ‘boost the attraction of Britain as a place to come and work’. He also dismisses the assurances that Cameron is planning to set out on the sovereignty of Parliament, saying

James Forsyth

Contrary to what Cameron and Osborne say, Gove hasn't been an Outer for 30 years

David Cameron and George Osborne have responded to Michael Gove’s decision to campaign for Out by saying that he has wanted to leave the EU for thirty years. But as Vote Leave are pointing out, Gove has not been an Outer for that long. When he was a journalist, Gove was actually arguing that Britain should, ultimately, stay in the EU. In 1996, he wrote in The Times that ‘It is still in Britain’s interest to stay in the EU.’ So, why are Cameron and Osborne saying that Gove has been an Outer for thirty years? I suspect it is because they want to paint Gove’s belief that Britain should

Saturday

20 February 2016

James Forsyth

What was said at the EU referendum Cabinet

At Cabinet this morning, every minister spoke in strict order of Cabinet seniority. This meant that Michael Gove was the first person to make the case for Out. I’m told that his argument to Cabinet was essentially the same as the hugely powerful statement he put out afterwards, which you can read in full here. The theme of the Cabinet discussion was, broadly, the trade-off between sovereignty and access to the free market. According to one of those present, where you fell on that question determined your position in the debate. One IN supporting Cabinet minister tells me that Oliver Letwin was the most persuasive speaker for that side of

Fraser Nelson

Boris Johnson not invited to David Cameron’s EU Cabinet meeting

As ministers roll into No10 in front of the cameras, reporters have noticed the absence of one Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. It turns out that the Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the normal Cabinet, rather than a ‘political Cabinet.’ A minor distinction, but it does mean no Boris Johnson – who is a member of the latter organisation, but not the former. Now, of course, you can argue that it takes a normal Cabinet to approve the deal on behalf of the government. But friends of Boris had been hoping for a political Cabinet, at which everyone would say their piece, followed by a rubber stamp at the Cabinet. And that

James Forsyth

Exclusive: Sajid Javid to back staying in the EU

Sajid Javid will campaign for Britain to stay in the EU. The Business Secretary’s decision is a blow to the Leave camp which had been hopefully of recruiting him; Javid had spoken in the past of how he was ‘not afraid’ of Britain leaving the EU as it ‘would open up opportunities’. Senior figures on the Leave side had hoped that Javid would help them persuade voters that quitting the EU would not be bad for business. Those familiar with the Business Secretary’s thinking say that what has swung Javid to IN is his sense that it is just too risky for Britain to leave right now given the parlous

Thursday

18 February 2016

Rod Liddle

Farty, smelly and in love with Putin? You must be getting middle-aged

There are things that happen when you grow older — bad things, harbingers of death and decay. Past the age of 55, I mean. For example, a friend and fellow columnist confessed recently that upon rising from a sitting position he almost always unintentionally farts. A delicate little ‘glip!’ from his bottom, every time he stands up. I am a little older than him and have yet to experience this demeaning imposition, this additional whiff of misery as we trundle downhill, via the unctuous and grimly cheerful hospice attendants, to the crematorium. But I am so terrified of it happening that nowadays, when I stand up, I rise very slowly and

Tuesday

16 February 2016

Tom Goodenough

Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?

David Cameron has claimed his deal with the EU gives Britain ‘special status’. The PM has also said Brexit would be a ‘leap in the dark’ but with the high-profile loss of Michael Gove and Boris Johnson to the out campaign, it seems that not all Conservative MPs agree with him. Who are the other Tories who have turned their back on the PM? And which of David Cameron’s party colleagues have voiced their approval for staying in the EU? Here The Spectator has put together a list of every Conservative MP – showing who is in, out, or yet to make up their mind about the big question of Europe. So

Monday

15 February 2016

Isabel Hardman

Cameron's concession on Cabinet meeting will calm eurosceptic tensions

David Cameron has conceded that he cannot force his Cabinet ministers to wait until the Tuesday after the European Council summit to discuss his deal with EU leaders. Sources in Downing Street have indicated that, if there is time, he could hold his Cabinet meeting in which he sets his frontbench free to take whichever stance they want in the referendum on Friday afternoon. Delaying the Cabinet meeting until its usual time of Tuesday morning would have been a great help to the Prime Minister, as he could have spent the whole weekend praising his own deal and making the case for Britain to remain in the European Union. But