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David Cameron must be willing to walk away from EU talks, says Boris Johnson David Cameron must be willing to walk away from EU talks, says Boris Johnson
(33 minutes later)
David Cameron should be prepared to walk away from his EU negotiations and allow Britain to forge a “glorious” future outside the European Union if the talks fail, Boris Johnson has said.David Cameron should be prepared to walk away from his EU negotiations and allow Britain to forge a “glorious” future outside the European Union if the talks fail, Boris Johnson has said.
In his first speech in parliament for seven years, the mayor of London set himself as the potential leader of the Tories’ no campaign, saying that Britain could be just as prosperous if it negotiates a free trade agreement with the EU.In his first speech in parliament for seven years, the mayor of London set himself as the potential leader of the Tories’ no campaign, saying that Britain could be just as prosperous if it negotiates a free trade agreement with the EU.
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“If you are going to go into a difficult international negotiation of this kind then you have got to be prepared to walk away if you don’t get the result that you want,” the new Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip said.“If you are going to go into a difficult international negotiation of this kind then you have got to be prepared to walk away if you don’t get the result that you want,” the new Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip said.
“If we don’t get the deal that is either in the interests of this country or of Europe we should be prepared to strike out and forge an alternative future that could be just as glorious and just as prosperous with a free trading arrangement.” “If we don’t get the deal that is either in the interests of this country or of Europe, we should be prepared to strike out and forge an alternative future that could be just as glorious and just as prosperous with a free trading arrangement.”
Johnson qualified his remarks by saying that he was confident the prime minister would succeed in his EU negotiations as he praised Cameron for embarking on a “schmooze-athon” across Europe.Johnson qualified his remarks by saying that he was confident the prime minister would succeed in his EU negotiations as he praised Cameron for embarking on a “schmooze-athon” across Europe.
Johnson told MPs: “We now have a Tory majority government with a clear mandate to seek change and therefore a government in the most powerful position in our lifetimes to deliver reform and improvement in Europe. We can. We can win that argument by being relentlessly positive and of course by making it clear that what we are advocating is not simply in the interests of Britain but in the entire EU.Johnson told MPs: “We now have a Tory majority government with a clear mandate to seek change and therefore a government in the most powerful position in our lifetimes to deliver reform and improvement in Europe. We can. We can win that argument by being relentlessly positive and of course by making it clear that what we are advocating is not simply in the interests of Britain but in the entire EU.
“I congratulate the prime minister and the elan and the success with which he has begun his pan-European schmooze-athon in the chancelleries of Europe. I believe his efforts will be crowned with success.”“I congratulate the prime minister and the elan and the success with which he has begun his pan-European schmooze-athon in the chancelleries of Europe. I believe his efforts will be crowned with success.”
The London mayor, who first made his name as the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent by baiting the former European commission president Jacques Delors in the early 1990s, has been keen in recent months to quash speculation that in private he is strongly pro-EU. Johnson knows that he will need to emphasise his Eurosceptic credentials if he is to succeed Cameron as Tory leader.The London mayor, who first made his name as the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent by baiting the former European commission president Jacques Delors in the early 1990s, has been keen in recent months to quash speculation that in private he is strongly pro-EU. Johnson knows that he will need to emphasise his Eurosceptic credentials if he is to succeed Cameron as Tory leader.
But Johnson’s remarks suggest that he might even be prepared to take a leading role in his party’s no campaign, which will be launched after the prime minister concludes his EU negotiations. The ranks of this group will swell if Cameron is seen to have secured a weak deal.But Johnson’s remarks suggest that he might even be prepared to take a leading role in his party’s no campaign, which will be launched after the prime minister concludes his EU negotiations. The ranks of this group will swell if Cameron is seen to have secured a weak deal.
Johnson has been made a member of Cameron’s political cabinet and is due to be given a full cabinet post when his term at City Hall ends next May, by which point the prime minister hopes to have completed his EU negotiations by then. Johnson has been made a member of Cameron’s political cabinet and is due to be given a full cabinet post when his term at City Hall ends next May, by which point the prime minister hopes to have completed his EU negotiations.
Johnson, who has recently had a biography of Winston Churchill published, warned both sides in the EU debate to be careful about claiming the mantle of Britain’s wartime leader. Churchill argued in favour of a “United States of Europe” but said that Britain should not be a member.Johnson, who has recently had a biography of Winston Churchill published, warned both sides in the EU debate to be careful about claiming the mantle of Britain’s wartime leader. Churchill argued in favour of a “United States of Europe” but said that Britain should not be a member.
The London mayor said: “I notice, in the course of trying to settle this argument over the last few days, assorted speakers have invoked the memory of Winston Churchill in one way or another. I have tell you Churchill was absolutely useless on this subject. He is biblical on this matter. You can find a text to justify almost any proposition about our relations with Europe that you choose. But one thing he believed in passionately – and that was in parliament as the expression of the will of the British people. He would want to see that democratic principle upheld today.”The London mayor said: “I notice, in the course of trying to settle this argument over the last few days, assorted speakers have invoked the memory of Winston Churchill in one way or another. I have tell you Churchill was absolutely useless on this subject. He is biblical on this matter. You can find a text to justify almost any proposition about our relations with Europe that you choose. But one thing he believed in passionately – and that was in parliament as the expression of the will of the British people. He would want to see that democratic principle upheld today.”