NOW CABINET MINISTERS WANT UK TO QUIT THE EU
Oliver Letwin is also said to have swung behind growing Tory support for withdrawal
Thursday June 30,2011
By Macer Hall Political Editor
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SENIOR members of the Prime Minister’s inner circle are convinced that Britain should quit the European Union, it emerged last night.
Two Cabinet ministers are reported to have been persuaded that the UK would be better off by cutting its links with Brussels.
And Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin, the PM’s policy guru, is also said to have swung behind growing Tory support for withdrawal.
The surge in anti-Brussels feeling within the Government follows the Daily Express’s hugely popular crusade for Britain to quit the EU. Last week it was reported that Mr Cameron’s strategy chief Steve Hilton also wants the UK to pull out. The latest reports of Government unease are revealed in today’s edition of the Spectator magazine.
An article by political editor James Forsyth said: “An increasing number of people in government are being driven to distraction by these EU obstacles. Even the Liberal Democrats in the coalition have taken to moaning about how much extra work Brussels imposes on them.
 Even the Liberal Democrats in the coalition have taken to moaning about how much extra work Brussels imposes on them  |
Article by political editor James Forsyth |
“But it is the Tory radicals who are most infuriated. Both Oliver Letwin, the Prime Minister’s policy point man, and Steve Hilton, Cameron’s longest-standing political ally, have been known to end meetings by saying ‘Well, the only solution is to leave the EU.’ At least two Cabinet ministers share their view.”
The article added: “It’s not just the Tories on the Treasury bench who are becoming more Eurosceptic. One senior backbencher tells me that he expects a sizeable number of his fellow Tory MPs to vote for Ukip (the UK Independence Party) at the European elections in 2012.
“Among the new intake of Tory MPs, who make up nearly half the parliamentary party, it is accepted that anyone who wants to be elected Tory leader will have to promise to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the European Union and put the result to a referendum.”
Yesterday Downing Street officials attempted to play down the report, insisting that all ministers remained committed to the official Government policy of working for reform within the EU. The PM’s spokesman insisted quitting the EU was “not the Government’s policy”.
But Eurosceptics believe the case for Britain’s exit is gaining ground among figures close to Cameron.The shift is said to reflect widespread anger at Brussels regulation and red tape.
Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: “The Daily Express has been saying what many people around this country have been thinking.”
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