EU Budget: Cameron shows off his strong negotiating hand

David Cameron could barely contain himself when he addressed MPs on his victory in last week’s EU budget talks. ‘I didn’t quite get a thank you!’ he jeered at Ed Miliband once the Labour leader had finished his response. ‘But I will give him a thank you for the non-thank you.’ He also mocked Ed Balls for saying ‘hear, hear’ when the PM mentioned the need for spending constraint in the EU as so many of its member states struggled with austerity measures. Obligingly, Balls then cheered ‘hear, hear’ as often as he could, and continued to do so when his own leader started talking.

For Ed Miliband, this was an opportunity to try to steal back some of the limelight: after all, it was Labour’s backing that made the Pritchard/Reckless amendment calling for a cut rather than just a freeze so powerful. But the Prime Minister batted this off, pointing not only to the rebate, but also the party’s lack of a referendum policy.