Cameron’s warm up act

David Cameron’s statement on the European Council served as the warm up act for this afternoon’s debate on the EU referendum motion. Cameron attempted to show his backbenchers that he is serious about bringing back powers from Brussels. He stressed that he had already prevented the transfer of further authority to the European Union without a referendum and that he “remained committed” to repatriating powers. In an attempt to flash a bit of leg to his own side, he said that when the debate about treaty change starts “every country can wield a veto until its needs are met.”

But Cameron remained vague about what powers he would like to see returned. The only thing we know is that he wishes to remain a member of the single market: the PM said Britain has “a vital interest in belonging to the single market.”