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| There's an element of Greek tragedy to David Cameron's slow-motion European car crash. After all, part of the reason he is unable to placate his right-wing backbenchers is because he tried so hard to please them in the first place. When he became Tory leader, one of Cameron's first moves was to pull out the centre-right European People's party grouping and set up shop with a bunch of lunatic European proto-fascists in Strasbourg. The proto-fascists were apparently more to his party's liking. This week, the repercussions of that move came back to haunt him. Cameron had invited Angela Merkel over for the full England treatment – tea with the Queen, an address to both houses of parliament and a photo-opportunity on the sofa in front of his DVD collection. The PM needs the German chancellor to grant him key concessions to sell the idea that he has secured reforms to Britain's relationship with the EU. Quite what those concessions are, we still don't know. It is very likely even he does not know. She was not minded to grant his requests. That's the problem with playing all your cards as far away from your chest as possible. Once the other negotiating team sees them, they may secure an advantage. She made some kind noises, but Merkel was not exactly sympathetic. After all, that was her centre-right grouping he pulled out of. Mercifully for the prime minister, he was doing somewhat better in the battle for Scotland, although his Cabinet meeting north of the border contrasted rather ineffectively with the more open town-hall format adopted by the Scottish Cabinet. The blows traded over North Sea oil had little effect, but Cameron was bolstered by a steady stream of good news from elsewhere. The polls showed a boost for the 'no' camp, Standard Life became the first major employer to say it might move its operations into England and there was further doubt about what Scotland would use for currency in the event of independence. By the end of the week, Salmond was openly talking about what he would do if Scotland votes 'no'. Meanwhile, Cameron was positioning himself for 2015 with renewed gusto - a move which will have been given emphasis by Nigel Farage's announcement that he was aiming to be deputy prime minister come the next general election. The man has chutzpah. After all, he currently has a grand total of zero MPs. The Tories rebranded themselves the 'Worker's Party', which caused considerable mirth online. The idea is to get rid of the Bullingdon club image and trade it for a bit of white van/Clapham omnibus. It will need more than that, although at least it was a move in a more electorally beneficial direction. His other move was less wise. Someone somewhere in Tory HQ decided to tell the press that the Tories wouldn't go into coalition in 2015 whatever happened. It was a daft statement, firstly because they would and secondly because saying so suggests they believe the government they have been in for the last four years is not worth defending. It was a terrible idea. So it will come as no surprise that similar proposals emerged from Labour's ranks. Of course, the Labour leader had problems of his own given that the Mail – with the Sun and the Telegraph snapping at its heels – had spent the entire week plastering the name of his party next to the word 'paedophile'. Low tactics? Yes. Baseless, grotesque slur masquerading as investigative journalism? Absolutely. Expect much more of this in the next year and a half. Best of NewsWater cannon a 'creeping infringement' on right to protest There is "no convincing argument" for using water cannon against the public, the Metropolitan Police are warned. Rough sleeping soars under the coalition Rough sleeping in England rises by more than a third since the coalition government came into power, despite David Cameron's promises to tackle the issue. Airlines report no surge in migrants from Romania and Bulgaria Fears that Bulgarians and Romanians would flood into the UK when work restrictions were lifted at the start of the year prove unfounded, after airlines and coach companies find no increase in traffic from the two countries. Michael Gove slammed for punishing children with sport Thousands of people sign a petition against Michael Gove's decision to punish children with exercise, after leading athletes, head teachers and even Conservative supporters spoke out against the plans. 'Another stitch-up': Snooping state makes half a million private data requests every year Britain's intelligence agencies could receive a rebuke from the snooping watchdog after it emerged there were over half a million requests for access to private data in 2012. Best of Comment and AnalysisIt looks like drug reformers are about to get a foothold in policy A Home Office minister just suggested recreational drugs should be sold on the high street Comment: Don't be fooled - our economic woes haven't gone anywhere We can't keep printing money to prop up a bloated welfare state. Merkel speech verdict: A cut-and-paste EU defence destined to be instantly forgotten The German chancellor fails to live up to the occasion with a pedestrian defence of the EU. Comment: Cameron's EU policy plays into Putin's hands In the Great Game, Cameron is being catastrophically outplayed by Putin Analysis: Has the lack of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants burst the Ukip bubble? Now that the party's prediction of a tidal wave of immigrants has proved unfounded, will the public continue to listen to it? Comment: The ban on hunting harms animal welfare Animal rights groups don't have a shred of evidence about the effect the ban on hunting with dogs has on wildlife WATCH: The five greatest Bill Hicks moments As the 20th anniversary of his death approaches we look back on Bill Hicks' five greatest moments Comment: The EU-US treaty which enforces privatisation Without a squeak from parliament or the press, a treaty is being negotiated which would make it almost impossible to reverse privatisation | Voice reacts angrily to Michael Gove's "deprofessionalising"Government and STRB deprofessionalising teachers and early years professionals. Number of animals rescued by RSPCA from floods doubles in just three daysThe RSPCA has released the latest rescue figures for flood stricken Britain - with almost 400 animals saved since Monday. International summit on illegal trade begins in LondonStrong measures sought to protect elephants, rhinos, tigers and other threatened species from poaching. Celebrating 9 years of hunt ban with facts and mythsCharities mark success of Hunting Act most successful piece of wild animal legislation. Extra tax support from HMRC welcome - but difficulties must be resolvedLITRG welcomes new HMRC service for taxpayers who need extra support but concerns remain. Boeing, Nok Air Announce Commitment to Order 737 MAXs, Next-Generation 737sEfficiency of 737 supports Nok Air’s low-cost model. BSA comments on the Banking Standards Review consultationBSA welcomes the Banking Standards Review consultation paper from Sir Richard Lambert and will be responding. |
