That in-in referendum in full …

Most interesting question from one of Labour’s best MPs (not least because she uses the subjunctive correctly) at Prime Minister’s Questions (with added video via Guido Fawkes).

Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab): The Secretary of State for Education said this weekend* that if there were a referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the EU, he would vote to leave. A third of the Cabinet agree with him. How would the Prime Minister vote?

The Prime Minister: As I said, I do not want an in/out referendum, because I am not hoppy – happy with us leaving the European Union, but I am not happy with the status quo either. I think what the vast majority of this country wants is a new settlement with Europe and then that settlement being put to fresh consent. That is what will be going in our manifesto, and I think it will get a ringing endorsement from the British people.

So you have (a) the bogus renegotiation secured from the bargaining position of saying at the start that the UK wants to stay in the EU, or (b) the status quo.

Do you think this is (a) going to work, or (b) blow up in David Cameron’s face?

(Answers on one side of the paper only.)

*Michael Gove was not, actually, reported as saying this in the Mail on Sunday; merely that he “has told friends that, if there was [sic] a referendum today on whether the UK should cut its ties with Brussels, he would vote to leave”. But he has not denied that this is his view.

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• greggf

  “you have (a) the bogus renegotiation secured from the bargaining position of saying at the start that the UK wants to stay in the EU….”

  It’s curious but he doesn’t seem to see that declaring his hand is an error – that is from his response today.

• proculharem

  Cameron has learnt the negotiation skills of his mentor George Brown who did so well in selling Britain’s gold.

• http://twitter.com/roymay5 roy may

  Answer to Cameron VOTE UKIP simples
  Goodby Tories
  Come on then all you Cameron worshipers, how about an honest answer.
  It is TRUE that no terms agreed with the EU can be altered without the full agreement of ALL the other 26 members.Now Cameron is promising to “Claim back powers” after the next election. If he can (which of course he cannot) claim back powers, why has he not done so already? We gave away around 60 powers with the Lisbon Treaty and so far Cameron has made no effort to reclaim a singe one.So come on all you Cameron supporters no more bulls**t WHY has he not claimed these 60 powers back?All this is yet another Cameron smoke screen to try to encourage folks not to join UKIP who he knows will cost the Tories the next election Its an in/out referendum before the next election with no strings or its goodby Tories.I know it, all the Tory party know it, and everyone in the country knows it so think onIn the mean time JOIN UKIP,

• MrVeryAngry

  “I think what the vast majority of this country wants is a new settlement with Europe and then that settlement being put to fresh consent.”he can ‘think’ that all he likes. But ‘ere on the street, as it were wot we want is an in or out unless…referendum

• Junius

  ‘Do you think this is (a) going to work, or (b) blow up in David Cameron’s face?’

  More to the point, why do you think the country at large cares very much, John Rentoul?

  In one Ipsos Mori Issues Index after another, when asked unprompted which were the most important issues facing Britain today, the vast majority of respondents do not mention Europe, the Common Market, the euro, or the EU.

  In the latest Issues Index (for September), asked unprompted which is the most important issue facing Britain today, only one respondent in one hundred mentioned Europe, etc.

  However, 16pc mentioned unemployment, and there was good news for them in today’s figures. Unemployment fell by 50,000 to 2.53m in the three months to August. The number of people in work rose to a record of almost 30 million. There were more job opportunities available, with the number of unfilled vacancies at 476,000, up 3,000 on the quarter and 17,000 from the same period last year.

  But one can understand Natascha Engel refraining from pressing the PM on employment. She would not want to embarrass her own front bench, now would she?

• http://www.facebook.com/ray.warman Ray Warman

  He hasn’t claimed them back because he can’t, he knows it and we know it, and he knows we know it. His theory is, that if he stalls long enough we’ll go away, he thinks.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Smith/1386738275 Andrew Smith

  Cameron’s position reminds me of Michael Foot’s policy on nuclear disarmament: abandon ours then ask the Soviets if they would mind awfully reducing their own.

  It din’t sell well and nor does Cameron’s approach.