At Cabinet this morning, every minister spoke in strict order of Cabinet seniority. This meant that Michael Gove was the first person to make the case for Out. I’m told that his argument to Cabinet was essentially the same as the hugely powerful statement he put out afterwards, which you can read in full here.
The theme of the Cabinet discussion was, broadly, the trade-off between sovereignty and access to the free market. According to one of those present, where you fell on that question determined your position in the debate.
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One IN supporting Cabinet minister tells me that Oliver Letwin was the most persuasive speaker for that side of the argument. Letwin, who has been a Eurosceptic for decades, said that he was backing the deal because the carve-out from ever closer union resolved the conundrum of how do you have access to the market without being part of the political project.
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