YP Comment: David Cameron comes out fighting over EU battlelines

it iS ironic that adversity appears to bring out the best in David Cameron. For, as opposition and criticism of his European Union renegotiation began to mount, the Prime Minister came out fighting and posed, in clear and concise language, the questions which go to the heart of the forthcoming referendum.

Prime Minister David Cameron delivers his statement on the EU to Parliament.

How will Britain be most successful? How will Britain create the most jobs? How will Britain retain the most influence? How will Britain be most secure? And so the Prime Minister went on, arguing that each and every question could only be answered in the affirmative if this country voted to stay in the EU.

Unlike those Eurosceptics who were never going to accept the PM’s concessions, and whose narrow interpretation of the minutiae can often detract from the key economic issues and what they mean for those people who are not political obsessives, Mr Cameron’s clarity was helpful and it is vital to his credibility that his concessions are now backed by EU leaders in a fortnight’s time.

There was also some candour when Mr Cameron conceded that the EU’s bureaucracy was still far from perfect, but it was important that Britain enjoyed the “best of both worlds” – freedom from those protocols which are contrary to the UK’s best interests while still being able to exert maximum influence as a global economic superpower.

However the PM’s challenge remains a formidable one. The last Tory premier to pursue a strategy of “in Europe but not run by Europe” was John Major whose government was so torn apart by infighting over the Maastricht Treaty ratification that the Conservatives then spent 17 years in the electoral wilderness. Mr Cameron’s challenge is making sure that history does not repeat itself for his party’s sake – and for the country’s sake. It promises to be the fight of his premiership.