EU referendum: David Cameron clarifies his clarification on EU referendum

Prime minister says comments on collective responsibility of ministers to support government were misinterpreted

David Cameron says his comments on sacking Eurosceptic ministers who want to campaign for an EU exit were misinterpreted

 Patrick Wintour Political editor in Schloss Elmau - Monday 8 June 2015
David Cameron’s approach to the EU referendum campaign was in danger of slipping from confusion to farce when he clarified his position by saying he could not yet decide if ministers will be free to campaign as they wish during the planned European referendum campaign.

But he insisted the British government will have a view on the outcome of the negotiations on the terms of British membership and will not be a by-stander.

The prime minister had been widely reported as proposing to impose collective ministerial responsibility during the referendum following a briefing he gave on Sunday, but Cameron said he had been misinterpreted, and blamed reporters accompanying him at the G7 summit in Bavaria for misunderstanding him.

He said collective ministerial responsibility only applies to the current stage of the renegotiations, but no decision had been made on whether ministers will be free to campaign to stay in or leave during the referendum campaign. He said ministers are currently required, as part of being in government, to expect a successful outcome to EU negotiations.

Cameron’s closing press conference at the end of the summit was dominated by questions on his approach to ministerial responsibility during the referendum campaign, and he will be frustrated that his first appearance on the world stage since his re-election largely saw him answering questions on how he is to prevent his party fracturing on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union.

He said he only realised his remarks had been misinterpreted when he read the newspapers this morning, and his officials denied he had been forced into a hasty u-turn by an angry reaction to the newspaper reports in London from senior Conservative figures such as former chief whip, Andrew Mitchell, and the prominent rightwing backbencher, David Davis.

However Downing Street by its normal standards had been slow to jump on the reports overnight, and also seemed to have allowed the junior communities minister, James Wharton, to appear on the BBC to assert that Cameron was right to say ministerial collective responsibility would apply in a referendum.

Wharton, believing he was following the government line, asserted anyone serving in the government would have to resign if they wanted to oppose the official position on a referendum vote.

“That is, fundamentally, what that means,” Wharton said. “If the government is taking a government position, if collective responsibility is applied, if you don’t want to support that position you have to leave.

“You are then free to campaign for whatever you want, to vote for whoever you want. If we get to a position where the government’s position is that this renegotiation has been successful – and the details will be there for everyone to see when we get to that point – then it is reasonable to expect that collective responsibility will apply.”

It is rare for a minister to be put up for a flagship programme such as BBC Today unless he or she has been given and understands the government line on an issue.

But Cameron said: “I was clearly referring to a process of renegotiation. I have always said what I want is an outcome for Britain that keeps us in a reformed EU, but I have also said that we do not yet know the outcome of these negotiations which is why I have always said ‘I rule nothing out, and therefore it is wrong to answer hypothetical questions’. We are going to have to take this stage by stage and step by step.”

Tying himself further in knots he continued: “What I said yesterday is that if you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in a renegotiation to have a referendum that will lead to a successful outcome.”

Until Cameron gave this new interpretation of his remarks, the issue of collective responsibility applying to the renegotiation had not been thought to arise since no minister was likely to object in principle to such a renegotiation.

He added: “I don’t know the outcome of the negotiations. I hope and I believe the outcome will be Britain with a better place in the EU, dealing with our problems, and therefore I will be able to recommend Britain will be able to stay in a reformed EU.

“That is the aim, the goal, that is what I want to achieve and I am confident of achieving it. I have said many times I do not know the outcome of the negotiations and if I don’t achieve what I want, I rule nothing out. And given I have said that, and I don’t achieve what I want, I cannot answer the question what would happen during the referendum.”

He then seemed to assert the government will have a collective view, even if the decision on ministerial freedom during the campaign is unresolved.

He said: “I don’t believe the government is a bystander in this. The government will have a clear view – the view I want to get us to is a successful renegotiation reform of the EU and being able to recommend Britain should stay in the EU. And in that case, the government is not going to be a bystander and the government will have a very clear view.”

Cameron is to hold further bilateral meetings in the sidelines of an EU summit on Wednesday, and he is also scheduled to meet the Italian prime minister Mario Renzi in the coming weeks.