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| Vince Cable warns Lib Dems that fight to stay in EU will be close | Vince Cable warns Lib Dems that fight to stay in EU will be close |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable has warned that politicians may get “a nasty surprise” at the strength of support for the out campaign in the run-up to the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. | Former Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable has warned that politicians may get “a nasty surprise” at the strength of support for the out campaign in the run-up to the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. |
| Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Lib Dem party conference in Bournemouth on Sunday, Cable said that although he thought the referendum would ultimately end with a vote to stay in the EU, it could be much closer than has previously been predicted. | Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Lib Dem party conference in Bournemouth on Sunday, Cable said that although he thought the referendum would ultimately end with a vote to stay in the EU, it could be much closer than has previously been predicted. |
| Related: Tories will 'slaughter' Labour under Corbyn at election, says Vince Cable | |
| Cable, who was secretary of state for business under the coalition between 2010 and 2015, said that the strength of eurosceptic feeling on both the right and left was growing and that campaigners could not afford to be complacent. | Cable, who was secretary of state for business under the coalition between 2010 and 2015, said that the strength of eurosceptic feeling on both the right and left was growing and that campaigners could not afford to be complacent. |
| “In a year’s time, there will be a lot of hostility to this government; people will want to express it some way or the other,” said Cable. “The left is beginning to waver, as of course it did in the 1970s. The Labour party was very hostile to the European Union – they thought it was a capitalist club – and you’re beginning to see that kind of argument reviving. The way that Greece was dealt with fuels that narrative, so you will not be able to rely on support from the left, though Corbyn has modified his own position on it. | “In a year’s time, there will be a lot of hostility to this government; people will want to express it some way or the other,” said Cable. “The left is beginning to waver, as of course it did in the 1970s. The Labour party was very hostile to the European Union – they thought it was a capitalist club – and you’re beginning to see that kind of argument reviving. The way that Greece was dealt with fuels that narrative, so you will not be able to rely on support from the left, though Corbyn has modified his own position on it. |
| “And the right is split between [Ukip leader Nigel] Farage and his allies in the Tory party, and Cameron and his supporters, so [support for the EU] is much less solid than it was a few months ago, let alone a few years ago and I would be prepared for nasty surprises.” | “And the right is split between [Ukip leader Nigel] Farage and his allies in the Tory party, and Cameron and his supporters, so [support for the EU] is much less solid than it was a few months ago, let alone a few years ago and I would be prepared for nasty surprises.” |
| Cable stressed that the Lib Dems had “always been absolutely straight and consistent in support for the European project” and that the party needed to stay absolutely committed in the face of growing euroscepticism. | Cable stressed that the Lib Dems had “always been absolutely straight and consistent in support for the European project” and that the party needed to stay absolutely committed in the face of growing euroscepticism. |
| He added that it would be a good opportunity for the party to work with “like-minded” MPs in parliament, echoing comments he made earlier this week that progressive centre-left politicians from Labour and the Lib Dems could “come together” to stop the Conservatives in light of Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour party. | He added that it would be a good opportunity for the party to work with “like-minded” MPs in parliament, echoing comments he made earlier this week that progressive centre-left politicians from Labour and the Lib Dems could “come together” to stop the Conservatives in light of Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour party. |
| Asked whether he thought David Cameron and George Osborne wanted to leave the EU, Cable said: “I worked with these guys for five years ... they don’t want the uncertainty of leaving and having to find some new arrangement, but they want to remain members on a fairly minimalist basis.” | Asked whether he thought David Cameron and George Osborne wanted to leave the EU, Cable said: “I worked with these guys for five years ... they don’t want the uncertainty of leaving and having to find some new arrangement, but they want to remain members on a fairly minimalist basis.” |
| Related: Farron opens Lib Dem conference with promise to fill Labour's space | |
| Holding a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union before 2017 was a key Conservative party manifesto commitment ahead of the general election. Although a date has not yet been set, David Cameron has started lengthy negotiations with other EU leaders to attempt to agree new terms for the UK’s relationship with Europe, principally changing the rules to restrict EU migrants’ access to in-work benefits. | Holding a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union before 2017 was a key Conservative party manifesto commitment ahead of the general election. Although a date has not yet been set, David Cameron has started lengthy negotiations with other EU leaders to attempt to agree new terms for the UK’s relationship with Europe, principally changing the rules to restrict EU migrants’ access to in-work benefits. |
| Speaking to Sky News’s Murnaghan programme earlier on Sunday, former Conservative defence secretary Liam Fox predicted that it might be difficult for Cameron to hold the referendum by the end of next year. | Speaking to Sky News’s Murnaghan programme earlier on Sunday, former Conservative defence secretary Liam Fox predicted that it might be difficult for Cameron to hold the referendum by the end of next year. |
| “If we get an agreement in renegotiations that doesn’t require a treaty change, that implies that there isn’t very much in that renegotiation, so it’s probably not worth having,” said Fox. “If we do get a meaningful renegotiation that does require a treaty change, I think there is a very powerful argument to have that treaty in place before the British people cast their vote.” | “If we get an agreement in renegotiations that doesn’t require a treaty change, that implies that there isn’t very much in that renegotiation, so it’s probably not worth having,” said Fox. “If we do get a meaningful renegotiation that does require a treaty change, I think there is a very powerful argument to have that treaty in place before the British people cast their vote.” |