European Council

Crispin Blunt Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his support on this issue. As for the costs and benefits of membership, I think the balance of competences review that will be carried out by the Foreign Office will give everyone the opportunity to make their points about which areas of European endeavour are in our interest and which are not. We should allow that debate to take place.

[Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con)]

This remarkable negotiating triumph follows hard on the heels of the Prime Minister’s referendum promise which has done so much to improve his negotiating hand to further advance British and European interests in Europe. Will he undertake not to take advice from the Opposition, who told him that he was too isolated in Europe to achieve these objectives and whose MEPs are about to vote in secret against the synthetic posturing of the Leader of the Opposition—one of the things that brings the European Union into such disrepute?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. In November, the shadow Chancellor said that

“David Cameron has failed to persuade other European leaders to deliver the reform of and real terms cut in the Budget”;

and we were accused by the shadow Foreign Secretary of being “isolated and marginalised”; but importantly, the Europe spokesperson said that

“If he does get a good deal for British taxpayers then we will commend him for that”.