Cameron backs down after threatening to sack ministers over EU referendum

Struggling: David Cameron today.

Struggling: David Cameron today.

David Cameron has been forced into a humiliating climbdown over his threat to sack Tory ministers if they didn’t back his deal with the European Union – whatever that deal might be.

He reckons his words were “misinterpreted”.

The Writer reckons that is very funny indeed!

Cameron told reporters yesterday: “I’ve been very clear, which is I’ve said that 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.” [boldings mine]

This was a repeat of what he told Andrew Marr in January: “Well, there are Conservative Members of Parliament who want the leave the European Union come what may, but if you’re part of the government, then clearly you’re part of the team that is aiming for the renegotiation.”

Asked by Marr if this meant there would not be a free vote, as Labour allowed in the 1970s, Cameron replied unequivocally:”No, I’ve set out that very clearly in the past.”

Now he’s saying that Marr interrupted him so much that his comments were not clear.

They seem clear enough to this writer!

And they’re saying that this is a Prime Minister who has talked himself into a corner.

The Sunday Times’s Tim Shipman tweeted that this issue goes back three years, to when Downing Street said ministers would be free to campaign for the UK to leave the EU – and the next day Cameron said they would not.

He’s still saying there won’t be a free vote – possibly because he sees it as a way of getting rid of his more awkward ministers.

But that will play havoc with his standing among backbenchers – especially the 50 eurosceptics who are already campaigning for a much more radical approach.

Finally, Cameron told journalists that – if they were unclear on anything – they should ask.

Fine words, from the man who has a habit of making statements and then walking away while questions fly towards his back!

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

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9 Comments

  1. M de Mowbray June 8, 2015 at 3:59 pm - Reply

    “That guy’s a real light-weight” (Barack Obama’s overheard assessment of Camoron, said just after Camoron’s first “election” and his subsequent trip to USA, which all new PMs have to do within a few days to get briefed as to who is the real Boss. Camoron is not bright, he just knows how to act in a way which has fooled a lot of people into thinking that he knows what he is talking about.

  2. paulmac49 June 8, 2015 at 4:01 pm - Reply

    He’s full of wind as usual. It makes me wonder how on earth he was voted back in.

  3. paul jackman (@paulfitter) June 8, 2015 at 4:42 pm - Reply

    what a DISGRACED PRIME MINISTER WE HAVE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY ITS COVER UP AFTER COVER UP STILL NO NEWS ABOUT THE N.H.S COMPLAINTS & HANDLING IT WAS GOING TO COME OUT ON 14/08/2014 AND STILL WE VICTIMS SUFFER

  4. Rupert Mitchell (@rupert_rrl) June 8, 2015 at 4:59 pm - Reply

    It seems an awful lot of his MPs got confused then!

  5. The Infamous Culex June 8, 2015 at 5:31 pm - Reply

    One just cannot rely on anything Cameron might declare, as he has a habit of speaking without first checking with his political puppet-masters. He’s done that before…

    On having bamboozled his way into Downing Street, he stated unequivocally that members of the public should nominate out-dated laws that they thought should be repealed and, almost in the same breath, he declared that he had no plans to introduce Part 3 of Labour’s oppressive Courts, Tribunals and Enforcement Act. Three years later, that is exactly what he did, with no checks or effective supervisory framework to catch over-zealous and bullying bailiffs.

    I’d demand a second opinion if he were to say the sea s wet.

  6. maxwell1957 June 8, 2015 at 6:19 pm - Reply

    Do you know what? The more shenanigans that Cameron tries to pull causes me to make a comparison with the antics of the ” whips ” in the Lindsay Anderson film , ” If…. “.
    If you haven’t seen this film you should seek it out on YouTube. It is either spookily prescient or a very,very sly poke at ” The Establishment ” in all its machinations…or both.

  7. casalealex June 8, 2015 at 6:57 pm - Reply

    As we are fully aware of Cameron’s surveillance of Social Media, I hope my comment on a post saying that he was threatening Ministers with the sack if they did not back his EU deal had this effect. I wrote, “Not content with corruption he is now advocating blackmail!”

  8. NMac June 9, 2015 at 6:55 am - Reply

    Cameron is a political lightweight. He and his cronies are playing internal Tory Party politics with the country.

  9. M de Mowbray June 9, 2015 at 8:24 am - Reply

    This is a big story on the BBC web site this morning about what the Papers say. It really does seem like Camoron has offended some of his colleagues by his thoughtless and tyrannical attitude, it could be the start of his support disintegrating. It is already abundantly clear that he cannot think on the spot: any time he gets asked a question he has not prepared an answer to (PMQs, Interviews etc) he gets flustered, speaks uncontrolled rubbish or resorts to throwing mud and insults at the questioner, in classic School Bully fashion. Apparently he was flustered by the BBC / Marr interview which put him off, but that is indicative of a 2nd rate mind which cannot think clearly when “Off Script”. A real light weight indeed!

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