Cause for Conservative concern?
The most significant moment in today's PMQs was not the fairly routine knockabout between Messrs Cameron and Miliband, but the eurosceptic bill of indictment read out by Maastricht veteran Bill Cash. He asked the prime minister - his leader - to explain why "at every turn - the City of London, the investigative order, economic governance of Europe and also the stabilisation mechanism - under your premiership this coalition government is acquiescing in more European integration and not less and no repatriation of powers".
This compendium of euro-grievances is shared by plenty of Conservative backbenchers. The tepid reception given to George Osborne's statement on the Irish bailout on Monday was one indicator of how unhappy many Conservatives now are. A mood not dispelled by Mr Osborne's ducking an invitation to rule out British participation in further rescue operations for, for example Portugal or Spain.
David Cameron can claim to have resisted the EU budget increase demanded by the European Parliament, and has said he would be unconcerned if deadlock in the budget negotiations between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers results in an effective freeze in EU funding. But the sceptics are more concerned about what they fear is Britain's inexorable absorption into European economic governance.
Recent votes have seen constant low level rebellion. The has identified 46 Conservative MPs who have defied the coalition line on some euro-issue, and a total 72 who have rebelled at some point on some issue. As they pointed out in the last Parliament, rebellion becomes easier after the first time, so David Cameron and Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin have genuine cause for anxiety - especially because it runs along one of the coalition fault-lines, with the sceptics muttering darkly that the Lib Dems have beguiled their leadership and lured them into europhilia.
And mere anxiety could become real concern if an issue arises where rebel sceptics could vote with Labour - if a motion could be constructed that played on those divisions the coalition could be defeated and, at best, seriously embarrassed.
One veteran sceptic wondered how long it would be before Labour became sufficiently ruthless to give that tactic a go....
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
Comments
or to comment.