The sceptic spectre at the feast (From The Northern Echo)

The sceptic spectre at the feast

5:49pm Thursday 15th December 2011 in Rob Merrick By Rob Merrick

DAVID CAMERON triumphed in the Commons on his return from wielding his historic EU veto – so why did I spot the spectre of John Major on the backbenches?

The Prime Minister was clearly enjoying himself as he took the plaudits of Eurosceptic Tories who normally bay for his blood, and Liberal Democrat criticism – inside the chamber, at least – was muted.

Furthermore, the polls suggest the public is strongly behind Mr Cameron’s jawdropping decision to put Britain in an EU minority of one, in defence of City bankers.

Even Nick Clegg’s no-show wounded only the Lib Dem leader, left red-faced by his Uturn in first backing, then publicly attacking, the Prime Minister’s tactics.

And yet it is worth remembering that Mr Major was also cheered when he returned from the landmark 1992 Maastricht summit, having secured his famous opt-outs.

Within months, those cheers had turned to jeers and the last Conservative Prime Minister was plunged into the civil war that helped destroy his premiership.

Now Mr Cameron is likely to find there is no appeasing his, much-larger, ranks of Europhobes, for whom bashing Brussels is more important than the party, the economy or their own careers.

On Monday, the toxic issues of repatriation of powers and a referendum were barely mentioned – but they will return with a vengeance in the months ahead.

Indeed, the grumbling has already started.

There are complaints that the heroic veto will be exposed as a “meaningless stunt”, if – as seems likely – Mr Cameron relents and allows the other EU states to use its institutions, without Britain.

The Eurosceptics are also preparing another Commons ambush when a New Year vote is staged on overhauling the Eurozone bailout fund.

Soon the penny will drop that Mr Cameron failed to win a victory last Friday. The other 26 nations can now push ahead with tougher regulation for the City, after he walked away.

Now shut out of the room and persona nongrata in Brussels, the Prime Minister is powerless to make the case for repatriation.

The truth is that his veto was a show of chronic weakness, a realisation that his job was in jeopardy if he presented a new EU treaty to his MPs without some victory – a victory he could not obtain.

It makes him the prisoner of the Eurosceptics, when he needs to shut down Europe as an issue to clam the anger of his Coalition partners.

On Monday, Tory MPs sat in silence when Mr Cameron argued that EU membership was in Britain’s national interest – a deathly hush more significant than the earlier cheers.

BUT, in the short-term, the headaches are on Labour’s side – in particular, the ease with which the Prime Minister swats aside Ed Miliband, when he brings his A-game to the chamber.

Yesterday, the Labour leader started on the front foot – given the jobs crisis and Coalition rifts over Europe – but Mr Cameron mauled him nonetheless.

One killer line put Cameron-Clegg rows into perspective – “it’s not like we’re brothers” – and he then put something nasty in Labour MPs’ stockings, telling them: “Every single one of them has asked Santa for the same thing; a new leader for Christmas.”