The government’s never-ending European problem

We thought CoffeeHousers might appreciate an advanced viewing of James’ political column from tomorrow’s issue of The Spectator, so here it is:

In the hours after the coalition was formed last May, a minister and a group of Tory MPs sat around a table in a parliamentary cafeteria discussing what it all meant. One new MP said to the minister that it was a pity that, in the course of the talks, the Tories had agreed to ‘park Europe for the next five years’. The minister, high on the Panglossian spirit of the early days of the coalition, reassured her that this was for the best. The party could devote its full attention to Europe when the economic situation was less pressing.

Yet almost 18 months on, Europe is taking up an ever-increasing amount of the government’s time. It turns out that, far from being ‘parked’, the European issue is speeding towards the coalition at an alarming pace.