British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a humiliating defeat in parliament on Wednesday after Conservatives rebelled over Europe, an issue that has divided his party for decades and helped bring down previous leaders.
Although the result carried no legal weight, the setback raised questions about Cameron’s authority after months of missteps by his coalition government and it revived painful memories of Conservative infighting over Europe.
Cameron wants the EU’s long-term budget to rise only in line with inflation, while opponents said it should be cut in real terms to reflect the bleak economic landscape at home and across Europe.
‘RANK OPPORTUNISM’
The rebels won the vote by 307 to 294 votes, a majority of 13, after they received support from the Labour Party, a generally pro-European group accused by Cameron of “rank opportunism.”
“This is a time for Brussels to listen to the British people and do what we are all doing, and that is cutting our cloth,” one of the revolt’s leaders, Conservative lawmaker Mark Pritchard, said.
Rebels said the vote — Cameron’s first significant defeat in parliament since taking power in 2010 — could strengthen his position at budget talks in Brussels next month because he will be able to say his hands are tied by the British parliament.
Other Conservatives said it would weaken his position.
Cameron wants Britain to remain an EU member, but to renegotiate its role within the bloc, focusing more on trade links and less on areas like regulation.
Addressing parliament before the vote, Cameron said he was prepared to use his veto to block an EU budget deal if he thought it was bad for Britain. France also threatened on Wednesday to use its veto if the proposals imply farm spending cuts.
“This government is taking the toughest line in these budget negotiations of any government since we joined the European Union,” Cameron said before the vote. “At best we would like it cut, at worst frozen, and I’m quite prepared to use the veto if we don’t get a deal that’s good for Britain.”
Accused of siding with the rebels to score cheap points against Cameron, Labour said it was right to ask Europe to cut its budget in real terms at a time of economic hardship.
“This is a humiliating defeat for David Cameron which shows how weak and out of touch he has become,” Labour finance spokesman Ed Balls said.
VETO
A day after Cameron’s humiliating defeat, Britain threatened to veto any deal on the EU budget that is not good for the British taxpayer.
“We want a cut in the EU budget,” Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told BBC Radio 4. “We are at the beginning of a negotiation. Let us see where that negotiation leads.”
The second most powerful man in the British government repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether he thought securing such a cut was possible or not.
“We will not accept a deal unless it is good for the British taxpayer. We will veto any deal that is not good for the British taxpayer,” Osborne said.
“No one should doubt David Cameron’s determination, my determination to deliver a deal that is good for the taxpayer and that puts an end to outrageous increases in European spending,” Osborne said.
Osborne talked past a question on whether the Conservative Party was out of control over Europe, but said Wednesday’s defeat in parliament meant the government had to listen to lawmakers.
“We will only put a deal to the House of Commons that we think the House of Commons will accept,” Osborne said. “If it comes to a vote ... the House of Commons will face a choice: You either accept the deal or you accept no deal. Now no deal doesn’t mean there is no spending in Europe; it means you go to these annual budgets in the European Union.”
Osborne, 41, said there had been a shift in the public mood against the EU in Britain.
Many Britons regard the EU as an incompetent and spendthrift bureaucracy. Britain’s ties with the 27-member bloc are likely to be a big theme in a national election due in 2015.
“Britain has become more Euroskeptic over my lifetime. I think people are outraged when they see money being wasted in Europe,” Osborne said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number