David Cameron has conceded that he cannot force his Cabinet ministers to wait until the Tuesday after the European Council summit to discuss his deal with EU leaders. Sources in Downing Street have indicated that, if there is time, he could hold his Cabinet meeting in which he sets his frontbench free to take whichever stance they want in the referendum on Friday afternoon.
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David Butterfield
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Delaying the Cabinet meeting until its usual time of Tuesday morning would have been a great help to the Prime Minister, as he could have spent the whole weekend praising his own deal and making the case for Britain to remain in the European Union. But Cameron cannot simply think about the referendum itself. He has to keep one eye on what will happen to his party after that vote, particularly if his campaign to stay in succeeds while the majority of the Conservative party in the country has campaigned to leave.
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