Government supporters in Commons will wait and see
It has got clearer this week what the UK government wants from Brussels if it is to remain in the EU. The four points are:
Britain to be kept out of any move towards a European superstate of ‘ever closer union’;
the euro is not the official currency of the EU, which is a “multi-currency” union;
a new “red card” system to bring power back from Brussels that stops unwanted directives being forced on the UK,
the EU’s 28 nations being reorganised to prevent the nine countries that are not in the eurozone being dominated by the 19 member states that are, with special status for the City of London.
But there is no clarity on whether the UK government’s supporters in the House of Commons will be united over the results of the renegotiations.
The liberal-left, pro-EU Guardian newspaper reports that the majority of these supporters will remain unconvinced even if Prime Minister Cameron has a successful renegotiation.
This is the opinion of the chairperson of the Commons Foreign Affairs committee. Asked if a successful renegotiation would change the minds of “the bulk of [government] backbenchers”, the chairperson said: “No, I don’t think so.”
“The majority of colleagues are sitting in the middle waiting for the result of the renegotiation”.
