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| Cameron's EU referendum threat 'could blow lid off' Tory party | Cameron's EU referendum threat 'could blow lid off' Tory party |
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| The “lid could blow off” the Conservative parliamentary party if ministers are denied the chance to follow their conscience to vote on either side in the EU referendum, the former chief whip Andrew Mitchell has warned. | The “lid could blow off” the Conservative parliamentary party if ministers are denied the chance to follow their conscience to vote on either side in the EU referendum, the former chief whip Andrew Mitchell has warned. |
| In a sign of unease at senior levels over Downing Street’s handling of the referendum, Mitchell issued what he described as “strong advice” to the prime minister to allow ministers a free vote. | In a sign of unease at senior levels over Downing Street’s handling of the referendum, Mitchell issued what he described as “strong advice” to the prime minister to allow ministers a free vote. |
| Membership Event: Guardian Newsroom: Brexit - what would happen if Britain left the EU? | Membership Event: Guardian Newsroom: Brexit - what would happen if Britain left the EU? |
| Mitchell, who served as Tory chief whip in 2012 and first made his name as a whip during the fraught Maastricht treaty votes in the mid-90s, told the Guardian: “My strong advice to the prime minister would be to let ministers campaign and vote as their conscience and their convictions dictate. Not to do so will put too much pressure on the parliamentary party and the lid could blow off. | Mitchell, who served as Tory chief whip in 2012 and first made his name as a whip during the fraught Maastricht treaty votes in the mid-90s, told the Guardian: “My strong advice to the prime minister would be to let ministers campaign and vote as their conscience and their convictions dictate. Not to do so will put too much pressure on the parliamentary party and the lid could blow off. |
| “Having been through the ghastly experience of the Maastricht era, 1992-95, when the Conservative government whips’ office kept the show on the road, I bear the painful marks of that era.” | “Having been through the ghastly experience of the Maastricht era, 1992-95, when the Conservative government whips’ office kept the show on the road, I bear the painful marks of that era.” |
| Cameron gave his clearest warning at the weekend that he will sack any government minister who wants to campaign to quit the European Union, insisting the government will not be neutral once he has struck a deal on a new relationship with the EU. The prime minister said he was confident of striking such a deal, which would be legally binding and do “what it says on the tin”, a formulation that leaves open whether the deal will stop short of immediate treaty changes. | Cameron gave his clearest warning at the weekend that he will sack any government minister who wants to campaign to quit the European Union, insisting the government will not be neutral once he has struck a deal on a new relationship with the EU. The prime minister said he was confident of striking such a deal, which would be legally binding and do “what it says on the tin”, a formulation that leaves open whether the deal will stop short of immediate treaty changes. |
| There are six members of the cabinet who have strongly Eurosceptic views and may wrestle with their consciences over the referendum. The list is headed by Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, who was encouraged when the prime minister appointed him to the cabinet committee overseeing the EU referendum. But he has not ruled out campaigning for a No vote if he believes the negotiations do not go far enough. | |
| Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, reiterated his call for ministers to be allowed to campaign on either side in the referendum campaign. Brady told Total Politics on Monday: “It is generally better to work with the grain, to engage colleagues, than to try to force them into places where they can’t go. And in terms of the referendum and certainly the process of healing that needs to take place after a big debate of that sort, I think it’s easier the more space people be given to express their honest deeply held convictions.” | Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, reiterated his call for ministers to be allowed to campaign on either side in the referendum campaign. Brady told Total Politics on Monday: “It is generally better to work with the grain, to engage colleagues, than to try to force them into places where they can’t go. And in terms of the referendum and certainly the process of healing that needs to take place after a big debate of that sort, I think it’s easier the more space people be given to express their honest deeply held convictions.” |
| At the G7 summit in Bavaria, Cameron was asked whether he had “absolutely closed his mind to allowing ministers a free vote”. He replied: “I’ve been very clear. If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation, to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome.” | At the G7 summit in Bavaria, Cameron was asked whether he had “absolutely closed his mind to allowing ministers a free vote”. He replied: “I’ve been very clear. If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation, to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome.” |
| When asked whether anyone in government who opposes that position would have to resign, the prime minister said: “Everyone in government has signed up to the programme set out in the Conservative manifesto.” | When asked whether anyone in government who opposes that position would have to resign, the prime minister said: “Everyone in government has signed up to the programme set out in the Conservative manifesto.” |
| He added: “If I can get a position where Britain would be better off in a reformed Europe then obviously that is not something the government is neutral about. It’s not a sort of ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ approach. If I can secure what I want to secure, I will have secured what I think is the right outcome for Britain.” | He added: “If I can get a position where Britain would be better off in a reformed Europe then obviously that is not something the government is neutral about. It’s not a sort of ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ approach. If I can secure what I want to secure, I will have secured what I think is the right outcome for Britain.” |
| Mitchell’s decision to speak out places him ironically on the same side as Duncan Smith, who was one of the main “Maastricht rebels” who gave the whips’ office such a headache. The former Tory leader believes ministers should be free to campaign on either side of the referendum. | |
| Duncan Smith was encouraged when the prime minister appointed him to the cabinet committee overseeing the referendum. But he strongly believes Britain needs to embark on an ambitious renegotiation to gain control over its borders, possibly through the use of an emergency brake. | Duncan Smith was encouraged when the prime minister appointed him to the cabinet committee overseeing the referendum. But he strongly believes Britain needs to embark on an ambitious renegotiation to gain control over its borders, possibly through the use of an emergency brake. |
| Downing Street will also be keeping an eye on the highly Eurosceptic business secretary, Sajid Javid, who has been given a place on the EU referendum cabinet committee too. | Downing Street will also be keeping an eye on the highly Eurosceptic business secretary, Sajid Javid, who has been given a place on the EU referendum cabinet committee too. |
| The prime minister appointed or promoted three hardline Eurosceptics after last month’s election. John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, served as Margaret Thatcher’s political secretary in her last years in Downing Street; Priti Patel, the employment minister, made her name as a leading figure in James Goldsmith’s Referendum party; and Dominic Raab, the justice minister, is a high-profile campaigner against the excessive burden of EU regulations. | The prime minister appointed or promoted three hardline Eurosceptics after last month’s election. John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, served as Margaret Thatcher’s political secretary in her last years in Downing Street; Priti Patel, the employment minister, made her name as a leading figure in James Goldsmith’s Referendum party; and Dominic Raab, the justice minister, is a high-profile campaigner against the excessive burden of EU regulations. |
| It is understood Cameron made clear to the new recruits that he expected them to support him throughout his negotiations and the referendum campaign. Their appointments were seen as an attempt to bind the Eurosceptic Thatcherite right into his EU strategy. | It is understood Cameron made clear to the new recruits that he expected them to support him throughout his negotiations and the referendum campaign. Their appointments were seen as an attempt to bind the Eurosceptic Thatcherite right into his EU strategy. |
| David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, said Cameron’s stance on ministerial support risked sparking a bitter Tory row. The highly Eurosceptic former Tory leadership contender told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This doesn’t show a great deal of confidence in the outcome of those negotiations that he has to say: my way or the highway, stay and obey the line or leave.” | |
| The intervention by Mitchell, an old ally of Davis’s from the whips’ office during the Maastricht years, will have added weight because he is from the One Nation mainstream tradition in the Conservative party whose supporters believe Britain should remain in the EU. They generally support the prime minister’s plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership. | The intervention by Mitchell, an old ally of Davis’s from the whips’ office during the Maastricht years, will have added weight because he is from the One Nation mainstream tradition in the Conservative party whose supporters believe Britain should remain in the EU. They generally support the prime minister’s plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership. |
| But Mitchell, who served as a whip when the then prime minister John Major fought nightly battles to secure the passage of the Maastricht treaty, believes Cameron is creating an unnecessary confrontation with the party. He believes Cameron should follow the example of Harold Wilson, the late Labour prime minister, who allowed ministers to campaign on either side in the EEC referendum in 1975. | But Mitchell, who served as a whip when the then prime minister John Major fought nightly battles to secure the passage of the Maastricht treaty, believes Cameron is creating an unnecessary confrontation with the party. He believes Cameron should follow the example of Harold Wilson, the late Labour prime minister, who allowed ministers to campaign on either side in the EEC referendum in 1975. |