Lawyers tend to use words carefully and it's worth looking closely at what Kenneth Clarke said about Europe in the statement he put out this morning about his return to the shadow cabinet. David Cameron has been too diplomatic to say so, but Clarke has made a significant concession to his leader.
This is what Clarke said:
Some may raise questions about my views on Europe. They are well-known. But I accept that the party has come to a settled view on European matters, and I will not oppose the direction David will set on European policies in the future.
Clarke did not commit himself to actually supporting party policy on Europe (and, presumably, if there are any votes on Europe in the Commons where he feels tempted to rebel, he will be given the night off). But he is saying that he will not try to overturn existing European policy (which has been getting tougher recently). More importantly, he is saying that he will not challenge Cameron's right to make European policy in the future. This matters because there are plenty of key European issues that are unresolved, not least what to do if the Lisbon treaty has been ratified by all EU member states by the time of the election.
If you think this is just a routine declaration of loyalty, you need to remember 1997. In the run-up to the election, John Major wanted to categorically rule out taking Britain into the euro, but he couldn't – because Clarke insisted on keeping that option open. Major would have loved to have had a declaration from Clarke saying that Clarke would not oppose the direction Major was setting on European policy but he was never in a strong enough position to obtain one. Cameron obviously is, but was it wise for him to bring back such an avowed Europhile?
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