David Cameron is determined to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership. But to get a good deal and to show his own eurosceptics – let alone UKIP voters – that he’s serious about this, he is going to have to be prepared to say that he would be prepared to leave if the rest of the European Union doesn’t play ball. (This poker game is why the other northern European countries that Cameron is relying on to help him secure a better deal have been quick to suggest that they wouldn’t mind Britain leaving that much.)
Cameron, though, is highly reluctant to do this. Not only does he think EU membership does provide genuine benefits to Britain but he also worries about how business would react to any threat of withdrawal.
When Gary Gibbon asked him today about whether he agreed with Michael Gove on being prepared to leave the EU, Cameron replied:
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