The Mail on Sunday has splashed today on the revelation that Michael Gove has apparently told friends that if a referendum were to be held, he would vote to take the UK out of the EU:
It’s a bold headline, but inside the story is a bit softer – Gove has apparently told “close allies” that Britain needs to be ready to threaten to leave the EU altogether if it is going to renegotiate our relationship successfully.
Simon Walters says this intervention by the education secretary is part of an “anti-EU pincer movement” by Gove and Cameron. The latter is due to announce a pull-back from some EU justice measures later this mornth, Walters says.
On the face of it, “Tory cabinet minister doesn’t like the EU” is hardly an earth-shaking revelation.
What’s interesting, though, is that Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome says:
My estimation is that at least eight Tory Cabinet ministers would privately sign up to exactly that view.
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If Montgomerie is right (and he often is about such things) and Gove is just one of a number of senior Tories having these thoughts, this story takes on a whole new dimension. Parliament returns tomorrow, so the next month or so will be an interesting one for the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU.
Will the Lib Dems have anything to say about this?
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