Although the headlines are about the demotion of Michael Gove and the promotion of women, Europe is the thread that runs through David Cameron’s wide-ranging reshuffle. We now have a Foreign Secretary in Philip Hammond who has said he would vote to leave the EU unless substantial powers are returned to Britain ahead of the in/out referendum planned for 2017. It is a significant appointment that will send shivers down the spines of some Foreign Office officials.
Although William Hague, the outgoing Foreign Secretary, insisted that Mr Hammond held the same view on Europe as Mr Cameron and himself, his promotion could mark another step towards the EU exit door.
The reshuffle also opens the way for a Conservative manifesto pledge to pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights. Liberal-minded ministers opposed to such a drastic move – Dominic Grieve, who had a pivotal role as Attorney General, Kenneth Clarke and Damian Green – have lost their jobs. Jeremy Wright, the new Attorney General, is a loyalist centre-right figure who will not rock the boat. The Liberal Democrats blocked Tory plans for a “British Bill of Rights” to replace Labour’s Human Rights Act, which incorporated the Convention into UK law. » | Andrew Grice | Tuesday, July 15, 2014
