Parliament Tells Prime Minister: Stand Up to Europe

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Parliament Tells Prime Minister: Stand Up to Europe

The British government suffered a historic defeat on October 31 as Parliament voted that Britain should aim to negotiate a real cut in the European Union’s budget. Prime Minister David Cameron had originally intended to push for a freeze in spending.

The amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Mark Reckless, was passed by 307 to 294 as Conservative Euroskeptics teamed up with the Labor Party. This is the British equivalent of Tea Party Republicans aligning with Democrats.

The vote marks a significant shift for Labor, which in recent years has wanted more Europe. At the last long-term budget negotiations in 2005, Labor significantly increased the amount of money Britain sends to the EU.

Some accuse Labor of political opportunism. But even if that is true, its reversal shows how much the public opinion has shifted against the EU.

In an article outlining its position, Labor’s Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander made clear that they still wanted Britain to be a leader in Europe. But if they see public opinion to continue to shift against Europe, that attitude may change too. It would not be unprecedented. Labor led the opposition to the EU when Britain joined.

Even Mr. Cameron doesn’t advocate a spending freeze because he supports the EU getting its current amount of money. With the European Parliament and European Commission demanding a budget increase of €200 billion over the next seven years, Mr. Cameron believes that an increase in line with inflation is merely the best deal Britain can realistically get.

Parliament’s vote is not binding—Mr. Cameron is free to negotiate whatever he feels is the best deal from Britain. But it makes it much harder for him to compromise. If he comes back with anything less than a real term freeze on the EU’s budget, he will be a laughing stock.

The tough line taken by Parliament pits Britain against much of the EU. Mr. Cameron has vowed to veto anything other than a freeze in spending. The French say that they’ll veto anything that cuts their sacred Common Agricultural Policy. Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel isn’t a fan of increased spending, but her biggest priority is to get a quick deal so she can go on to focus on Europe’s bigger problems. Britain has allies among the Scandinavian countries.

The budget talks, scheduled for November 22, seem set to end in failure. They expose how bitterly divided Europe is, and that the EU will never be able to quickly and effectively make decisions. The talks also expose how much Britain’s political landscape has changed. Watch for Britain’s drift away from Europe to continue.