PM 'may threaten EU exit' if powers not returned to Britain
DAVID Cameron is preparing to threaten to back a British exit from the European Union if it fails to make major concessions over returning powers.
"I think you have to be prepared to walk away if nothing sensible was on offer, otherwise why would [other EU nations] negotiate with us?"
The Prime Minister has always refused to say he would campaign to sever ties if he failed to achieve his promised reforms, but he is now poised to issue the warning, according to reports.
Mr Cameron has pledged that a Conservative government would hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017 after renegotiating London's relationship with Brussels.
But his efforts to pave the way for a new deal were dealt a blow earlier in the summer when he lost the battle to stop arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker from becoming the next European Commission president.
The Prime Minister wants Britain to be freed from the commitment to an "ever closer union" and would like a shift of powers flowing away from Brussels rather than to it.
Among the other reforms he wants to secure are a reduction in red tape for businesses and the right to free movement to take up work, not free benefits.
But critics warn that a significant overhaul is unlikely and that Mr Cameron faces a major battle to win over Mr Juncker after publicly denouncing his candidacy.
No timescale has been set for outlining the beefed-up stance but the Tory party's autumn conference is being considered, according to reports.
A source told The Times: "The shift was almost made public at the time Juncker was appointed, but that timing might have looked like petulance."
However, Downing Street has so far refused to concede that Mr Cameron would consider supporting a so-called Brexit.
The reports come in the wake of pressure exerted by London Mayor Boris Johnson, who said Britain should not be "paranoid and scared" about leaving the EU.
In a speech earlier this month, Mr Johnson said that only a significant set of reforms would help make the case for staying in the 28-nation union.
But critics of a potential Brexit say it would be wrong for the Prime Minister to raise the prospect of leaving the EU as a away of securing reforms.
Such a move could, they argue, destabilise British businesses that rely on trade with EU nations.
However, former cabinet minister John Redwood reportedly contended: "I think you have to be prepared to walk away if nothing sensible was on offer, otherwise why would [other EU nations] negotiate with us?"