Tories in turmoil

No longer would the UK Independence Party sweep up the votes of disgruntled Conservative Eurosceptics and no longer would his own party be consumed by a European debate which was distracting the Government from its prime priority of rebuilding Britain’s economy.

It now seems that Mr Cameron could not have been more wrong. Not only has Ukip continued to add to its electoral successes but the unhappiness within the Tory Party now threatens to bring about the absurd situation of Government Ministers refusing to vote in support of their own Queen’s Speech.

Believing that the voters need more proof of Mr Cameron’s intentions on Europe, backbench Tories are planning a vote to express regret that last week’s Speech did not include a paving Bill for an in/out referendum.

For the Prime Minister, this is embarrassing enough. Yet, by insisting that Ministers abstain from the vote, Mr Cameron is creating a needless loyalty test. Should any member of the Government refuse to obey him and vote for the motion, his embarrassment will be compounded and the Tories’ turmoil made even worse.

Now that even his loyal Education Secretary, Michael Gove, is admitting that he wants Britain out of the EU, Mr Cameron should give all his Ministers free rein to have their say in this week’s debate.

After all, if Ukip’s success has shown anything, it is that voters value directness and honesty from their representatives, not convoluted political games. And a display of visceral Euroscepticism from Ministers may just help to convince equally sceptical voters that the Conservatives share their concerns and that Mr Cameron has every intention of giving them their say on Europe.