Think the Tories were split over Europe? If Starmer’s EU trip goes wrong he’ll be on menu when he gets home

AS Sir Keir Starmer sits successful his crisp, achromatic leather level spot this greeting and stares retired implicit the Channel, helium should retrieve his predecessors.

Barely reaching cruising altitude connected the 45-minute hop to Brussels, helium follows a agelong enactment of UK Prime Ministers who person made that travel to beryllium told “non, nein, no” by so- called friends successful Europe portion ministers backmost location bicker.

Although the past decennary could person fooled anyone, Cabinet splits implicit the Continent are not conscionable for Conservatives.

Long earlier the Tories’ David Cameron, it was Labour’s Harold Wilson who offered up a referendum connected Europe successful a bid to quell enactment quarrels — and neither lasted successful bureau for agelong afterwards.

Now, though they contradict it publicly, determination are increasing tensions successful Starmer’s already bruised Government arsenic helium seeks his alleged EU “reset”.

The second-referendum fanboy bound himself to Brexit arsenic the terms for winning the election, and present hundreds of Labour MPs ticker agog arsenic Reform cements challenger presumption successful their pro-Leave seats.

Lukewarm soup

They volition not fto No10 hide the manifesto committedness not to reverse Brexit.

Vocal critics of a 2nd referendum similar Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stock a Cabinet array with People’s Vote champions similar Pat McFadden, portion Foreign Secretary David Lammy does small to disguise his unreconstructed Europhilia.

No10 is preparing to “go hostile” connected Reform person Nigel Farage arsenic helium emerges arsenic the top menace to a 2nd Labour term, portion ample swathes of the enactment rank inactive privation the PM to rejoin the EU bloc.

They’re led by Sir Sadiq Khan who unhelpfully won’t unopen up astir it, contempt the London Mayor’s caller acquisition of a gong.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir’s naive hopes of a amended woody with the EU simply due to the fact that helium is not Boris Johnson — oregon due to the fact that helium did each helium could to undo the Leave ballot — indispensable surely present person evaporated similar vapour from the backmost of the Prime Minister’s backstage jet.

Any effort to fiddle with the divorce presumption or, arsenic Starmer wishes, forge a full caller abstracted broadside woody connected defence, volition travel astatine a hefty price.

As the PM tucks into his lukewarm crockery with the EU27 tonight, expect that to beryllium hammered location successful 2 twelve co-ordinated leaders’ speeches.

And conscionable arsenic galore a British PM earlier Starmer has discovered, the crunch volition travel connected the ineffable EU committedness to escaped movement.

They hatred the information we unopen our doors to EU students and citizens.

And portion they whitethorn formal it each up arsenic a Youth Mobility Scheme, enactment placements for the under-40s, oregon peculiar entree for EU students successful definite occupation sectors, what is wide is this volition beryllium their lb of flesh.

The flare has gone up from the Home Office — with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper unrelenting yesterday, informing that much arrivals is “not the close starting constituent for america astatine all”.

She has made it wide to the PM that specified a determination is incompatible with bringing down nett migration — and nevertheless you rotation it, hundreds of thousands of Europeans coming to enactment present would number towards labour statistic truthful it’s a non-starter for Cooper.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, connected the different hand, is keeping her cards adjacent to her chest.

But Chancellors hopeless for maturation are excessively often tempted by the migration lever for a speedy fix.

While Starmer is not the archetypal PM to effort to instrumentality connected Europe with a divided Cabinet, it ne'er tends to spell well.

Neither broadside seems up for a protracted dialog — but get acceptable for a fewer months of reddish lines, tunnels, leaks, briefings and endless Eurocrats willy-waving arsenic they sniff different accidental to punish Les Rosbifs for having the temerity to permission their small club.

And it’s already begun, with 1 peculiarly obnoxious briefing from an “EU diplomat” to The Times past week bragging that playing hardball “worked for america the archetypal clip astir with Boris and volition enactment for america again with Starmer”. But did it, really?

Downing Street disregard this arsenic dialog foreplay, but frankly we each cognize Starmer is nary Johnson.

Knife fight

Boris deselected members of his ain enactment and held the weapon of No Deal to the heads of not lone the EU, but Parliament and Whitehall, successful his efforts to unit an acceptable zero-tariff, zero-quota commercialized woody done — successful a mode that his predecessor arsenic PM, Theresa May, had 3 times tried and failed to bash earlier being ejected from office.

The stakes are not arsenic precocious this time, but Starmer could bash worse than look astatine which caller PM really managed to locomotion distant from Brussels with something, by refusing to creation to the EU’s tune.

So far, Starmer’s squad speech of buckets afloat of concessions — giving the content they are bringing technocratic niceties to a weapon fight.

Cameron discovered the hard mode that this gets you nowhere, conscionable arsenic May recovered retired the EU is much than consenting to propulsion a nationalist person to the wolves earlier climbing down.

Enjoy your dinner, Sir Keir, but conscionable retrieve it’s you connected the paper backmost location if this each goes wrong.

A LITTLE birdie tells maine Conservative Party bigwigs and elder unit to the Leader of the Opposition are holding a situation gathering this afternoon, implicit the dire authorities of polling and bare coffers.

With the Tories present consistently successful 3rd spot to Labour and Reform, 1 root whispered: “Panic stations!”

The enactment is truthful broke that shadiness ministers person been told they tin lone prosecute advisers if they instrumentality them connected their ain parliamentary payroll oregon privately find donations to wage for them.

HAS Two Tier Keir go Tier Four Keir?

The PM is facing VERY awkward questions today, arsenic an explosive caller publication suggests helium whitethorn person breached lockdown rules connected Christmas Eve 2021.

Get In, by my superb Westminster colleagues Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund, reveals Sir Keir’s idiosyncratic dependable manager (yes, really) was astatine the past absorption boss’s broadside for a virtual property league astir Brexit that lockdown Christmas.

But unluckily for Mr Rules, strict Tier 4 laws successful spot past meant it was amerciable for anyone not moving successful “essential nationalist services” oregon “direct Covid-19 effect work” to question to work.

There were nary exceptions for dependable coaches, nevertheless overmuch Sir Keir needed one.

And retrieve this is the feline who erstwhile promised to resign if helium was ever caught breaking the rules.