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EU referendum: Cabinet poised to go to war over European Union membership

John Redwood says he 'knew' of six cabinet ministers who would consider resigning if made to campaign for In vote 

Oliver Wright
Political Editor
Monday 21 December 2015 19:22 GMT
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Some senior Conservatives believe that David Cameron would be unable to stay on as leader in the event of a vote to leave Europe
Some senior Conservatives believe that David Cameron would be unable to stay on as leader in the event of a vote to leave Europe

At least half a dozen members of the Cabinet believe David Cameron won’t get a good enough deal from other European leaders to support staying in the EU, a senior Conservative Eurosceptic has claimed.

As Tory infighting over Europe intensified after last week’s summit in Brussels, John Redwood said he “knew” of six cabinet ministers who would consider resigning from the Government if they were made to campaign in favour of remaining in the EU. He added that there were “many more” junior ministers who held the same view.

The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, the Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers and Leader of the Commons Chris Grayling are all known for their Eurosceptic views. But others including the Justice Secretary Michael Gove and the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond are also known to have strong reservations about Britain’s continued membership.

Mr Redwood, a Eurosceptic who challenged Sir John Major for the leadership of the Tories over the issue, also suggested that Mr Cameron would be forced to resign if he campaigned for the In campaign but lost the referendum.

John Redwood said he “knew” of six cabinet ministers who would consider resigning from the Government

In campaigners fear that dislike of the Government – particularly on the left – could swell the ranks of the Out campaign and its supporters would be further motivated if they believed Mr Cameron would be forced out by a vote to quit the EU.

Speaking to the BBC Mr Redwood said there was a feeling among Conservative MPs that the deal Mr Cameron hopes to strike in February will not be enough to persuade them to back him.

“I know that there are half a dozen cabinet members that are pretty strongly of the view that this deal won’t be good enough and it would be better to leave, and there would be many more junior ministers of that view,” he said.

“Who knows how many of them will actually resign when it comes to it but I think you would need to because it’s so fundamental. It’s: do we take control back over our borders, do we take control back over our own finances, do we take control back over our criminal justice or don’t we? What kind of a country do you want to belong to? Do you want Britain to be at the top table in its own right or do you want to it to be just part of a European grouping?

Mr Redwood added that he did not think Mr Cameron would be able to stay on as leader in the event of a “leave” vote. “I don’t think Mr Cameron would want to [continue as leader], because you would need someone who believes in leaving, who could go to France and Germany, who could sort it out in an amicable but firm way,” he said.

The chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Graham Brady, told the Today programme it was right that ministers did not speak out about leaving the EU until David Cameron has finished negotiating reforms to the UK’s status within the bloc.

“I think that collective responsibility should hold until it’s clear what the deal is,” he said.

Tory party’s EU split: Who’s in and who’s out

In

David Cameron

Despite claiming he would campaign for Britain to leave the EU if he doesn’t get the “right” deal from his renegotiations, it would be a major shock if he didn’t lead the campaign in favour of Britain staying in.

George Osborne

The Chancellor’s political fortunes are inextricably tied to those of Cameron and he knows that a vote to stay will strengthen his chances of succeeding his friend as Prime Minister.

Michael Gove

Mr Gove is a Eurosceptic but he is also a party loyalist. He will bite his tongue and follow Mr Cameron in campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU.

Boris Johnson

Has had his own “will he, won’t he” saga, but is likely to conclude that breaking ranks to join the campaign to leave would damage his own chances of succeeding Cameron.

Out

Iain Duncan Smith

A long-standing Eurosceptic who knows he is unlikely to get another Cabinet job after this one. He is known to want to campaign for Britain to leave the EU and could very well decide to quit the Cabinet to do so.

Chris Grayling

Another politician who is on his way down the ministerial ladder. A Cabinet colleague told The Independent that Grayling is likely to lose his job as Leader of the Commons at the next reshuffle anyway and might choose to quit over an issue of conscience before he is pushed.

Theresa Villiers

Normally a loyalist, but the Northern Ireland Secretary is understood to have raised her concerns about Europe with the Prime Minister. If ministers are given freedom to campaign to leave, Villiers almost certainly will.

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