Cameron - Getting ready to govern

David Cameron made a major U-turn this week after the Czech Prime Minister signed up to the Lisbon Treaty. He found himself in the position of having promised a referendum on a treaty that had already been ratified by the whole of Europe. This referendum is no longer happening.

The fact that Cameron made that promise in the first place is a sign that the Conservatives are still divided over Europe. Surely he would have known that such a promise was unrealistic and was only made as a way of uniting the Euro-sceptic majority of the Conservative party behind him.

Now that Cameron is preparing his party to govern he has to adopt a more realistic approach as opposed to a political points scoring one. This could be sticky for him.

He must realise that Britain’s future relies on a positive relationship with Europe whilst the Conservatives future might rely on a coherent European policy. At the moment the two seem mutually contradictory and there is no doubt that this is an own goal for the Conservatives.

This episode suggests that although the Conservatives seem united on the outside, a few more cracks could well emerge in the lead up to the election as the party gets ready to govern.

Blair right for EU president

Today David Miliband wrote in the Times that Britain is a big player in Europe because our role “magnifies the power of our ideas, which strengthens our clout in Washington, Beijing and Moscow.”

Miliband is right in the sense that the world is changing fast and for Britain to have influence in it, she needs to rely on more than a colonial heritage. Foreign policy debate should focus on how Britain can maintain this influence, rather than living in the past with Britain seen as a major independent player.

This is why Tony Blair becoming president of the EU is an opportunity for Britain. The great powers of the future are the USA, China and even Russia and India in the longer term. If Britain is to continue to have influence on the world stage then it will be largely through Europe and a strong European leader, respected globally and with the power to work with and influence other global decision makers.

In his Times piece, Miliband writes that four factors now underpin Britain’s influence on a world stage:

“Britain is a leading contributor of people and money in tackling the great challenges of the world…

British ideas give us influence…

Our values set a high standard…

Britain is at the heart of a unique web of international networks.”


Rejection of the Lisbon Treaty is based on an outdated argument that Britain can still punch her weight independently because of the power she has held in the past. It is time that we got with the times, accepted that our foreign policy future lies largely with Europe and our role in other international organisations and started making the most of our leadership through the European machinery. Tony Blair as EU president would be a good start.