As David Cameron entered the Commons at the end of a morning that began with his speech on Europe, his backbenchers did something they rarely do these days. They cheered him to the echo. Moments earlier the Conservative chairman, Grant Shapps, had announced on TV that the Europe speech had united the party. The sight of so many delighted Tory MPs, many of whom have become minor political celebrities by making the prime minister’s life miserable, seemed to suggest Shapps was right.
Looked at more carefully, however, it was a sight that brought to mind the famous words of Sir Robert Walpole, declaring war on Spain in 1739: “They now ring the bells, but they will soon wring their hands.” Or a scene that recalled something Tony Blair was fond of saying in the more recent past: “The British people may have their prejudices, but they get very uneasy when their politicians start to share them.”
looking beyond borders 