David Cameron faced a barrage of attacks yesterday from across the political spectrum over his EU reform deal – with one Tory MP accusing him of serving up “thin gruel”.
The prime minister insisted Britain could enjoy the “best of both worlds” as he fielded questions from MPs on the fruits of his negotiations.
But he came under repeated fire from Labour and the SNP, as well as his own Eurosceptic backbenchers.
As the Commons – and the European Parliament – discussed European Council President Donald Tusk’s proposals, it emerged up to five Cabinet ministers could campaign for Brexit.
Mr Cameron was also hit with a letter from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts urging him not to hold the EU referendum in June.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson picked up on this in the chamber, but Mr Cameron rejected the demand – committing only to a gap of at least six weeks from the May 5 elections.
Mr Tusk’s blueprint sets out plans for an “emergency brake” on benefits for migrant workers, as well as measures to give national parliaments more power to block EU laws.
But they must first be agreed by all 27 other national leaders at a crunch Brussels summit on February 18-19, a process Mr Cameron said would require “hard work, determination and patience”.
He told MPs the question was not whether Britain could survive outside the EU, but how it would be most successful and prosperous.
He also vowed never to say the EU is “fixed”, even if the changes are secured, adding: “There’ll be many things that remain to be reformed and Britain would continue to lead the way.
“Ensuring Britain truly can have the best of both worlds, in the parts of Europe that work for us and out of those that don’t.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – who said his party is “committed to keeping the UK in the EU” – characterised Mr Cameron’s negotiation as a “Tory party drama” that had played out entirely as expected and a “smoke and mirrors sideshow”.
He accused the PM of pursuing the “wrong goals in the wrong way”, adding: “For all the sound and fury, the prime minister has ended up exactly where he knew he would be.”
Moray MP Mr Robertson told the PM to “stop pretending” he had secured a major victory, while Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg said he believed Mr Cameron had two weeks to salvage his reputation as a negotiator, adding: “The thin gruel has been further watered down.”
But Tory heavyweight Ken Clarke said his party leader had “actually achieved more on the big issues in this negotiation than I ever expected”.
Mr Cameron said the emergency brake proposal delivered on the intention to end the idea of “something for nothing”.
But there has been criticism of the caveat that migrants’ access to in-work benefits should be phased in over the four-year period rather than banned outright.