Tory Wars, redux

Even after reading Jonathan’s post, I struggle to see the strategy in David Cameron’s position with his party over Europe. The motion is non-binding, and Miliband has three-line-whipped his party to vote against so there was zero chance of the motion passing. It is the result of a petition to parliament, so you can’t write this off as the idea of a few Tory MPs in the tearooms. Cameron should have said:

“Sure, guys, have your vote. It’s a backbench motion, so the government won’t take part and as you know I’ve booked a trip abroad next Thursday anyway so I won’t be here. But I was serious when I said those petitions are a way to “rebuild trust in politics”. If this reached the threshold I set – 100,000 votes – then I’m happy for this to be debated, with a free vote. If you ask me, it’s an odd time to discuss a referendum.