Portrait of the week | 11 June 2015

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David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said of the EU referendum: ‘If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome.’ This caused a certain amount of uproar, with newspaper headlines saying things like ‘PM: Back me or I will sack you.’ Mr Cameron the next day said: ‘It’s clear to me that what I said yesterday was misinterpreted.’ His remarks followed the launch of a grouping called Conservatives for Britain (run by Steve Baker, the MP for Wycombe), which boasted the support of more than 50 MPs, who said they would vote to leave the EU unless Mr Cameron secured substantial changes to Britain’s relationship with it. Boris Johnson, a Tory MP once again, said he did not see why ministers should not campaign against EU membership.