This weekend’s public spat between David Cameron and Penny Mordaunt about whether Britain can stop the accession of new countries such as Turkey into the European Union looks like just another row in the referendum campaign. Every day one figure on one side makes a claim that riles the other side, and a war of press releases and broadcast interviews ensues. But this particular row doesn’t just tell us a lot about where the two camps are in the campaign, but also makes a considerable difference both to the campaign and to the aftermath of the vote.
Firstly, it is clear that the Tory party is going to take a long time to repair after this vote. The Prime Minister has accused one of his own ministers of being ‘absolutely wrong’: will he then be able to sack her after the referendum for ‘getting things as straightforward as this wrong’, or will he have to accept that all is fair in love and war? Many pro-Leave MPs think that his behaviour in the referendum means that he will have to accept anything that his opponents throw at him as fair game.
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