British Leader Faces Rising Tide of Criticism From His Own Party

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/world/europe/david-cameron-facing-criticism-from-own-party.html

Version 0 of 1.

LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron’s leadership came under mounting strain on Sunday over European policy and social issues, with one senior figure saying Mr. Cameron had lost control of the Conservative Party.

That critic, Geoffrey Howe, a former cabinet minister, accused the prime minister of “running scared” of his party’s right wing, which has become increasingly unhappy with Britain’s role in the European Union.

Local party activists, meanwhile, have reacted furiously to published reports that an ally of Mr. Cameron’s had made disparaging remarks about the Conservative rank and file, calling them “mad, swivel-eyed loons” who were forcing their lawmakers to take extreme positions against their better judgment.

Making matters worse, Parliament is scheduled to debate measures on Monday to legalize same-sex marriage in Britain, a step that Mr. Cameron supports but that the right wing of the party, and many of its local activists, intensely dislike.

A petition from senior figures in local Conservative Party associations, attacking Mr. Cameron’s support for the bill, was delivered to the prime minister’s office at 10 Downing Street on Sunday.

Mr. Howe wrote an article for The Observer criticizing Mr. Cameron’s plan to renegotiate British ties with the European Union if he is re-elected, and then hold a referendum on membership of the bloc in 2017.

“By making it clear in January that he opposes the current terms of United Kingdom membership of the European Union, the prime minister has opened a Pandora’s box politically and seems to be losing control of his party in the process,” Mr. Howe wrote.

One of a dwindling number of prominent Conservatives willing to argue publicly in favor of remaining in the union, Mr. Howe resigned as deputy prime minister under Margaret Thatcher in November 1990 after breaking with her over European policy, prompting a challenge to her leadership that brought her resignation a few weeks later.

Mr. Howe’s view is shared by some commentators in Britain who say Mr. Cameron was unwise to try to appease his right wing by offering the referendum on a renegotiated membership in the union. Since many on the right want Britain to leave the union entirely, the argument runs, no concession short of withdrawal is likely to satisfy them.

Last week, more than 100 Conservative lawmakers voted to criticize Mr. Cameron’s failure to enshrine his promise of a referendum in law. Though the measure did not pass, it illustrated that many Conservatives do not trust Mr. Cameron to keep his promise, and that the party is alarmed at the rise of a populist anti-European party in Britain that did surprisingly well in local elections this month, mainly at the Conservatives’ expense.

Many on the Conservative right also chafe at having to govern in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, the most pro-European of Britain’s political parties, and fault Mr. Cameron for failing in the last general election to win an outright majority that would allow the Conservatives to govern on their own.

The dispute over the derogatory comments about party members touched another raw nerve. With his wealthy background and elite education, Mr. Cameron is seen by some as aloof and out of touch, a perception that he has amplified by appointing advisers from similar backgrounds.

Reports on the remarks appeared in several newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, which leans Conservative; the comments were attributed to a senior party figure whom the newspapers did not identify.