Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments at they happen, including David Cameron’s speech setting out his EU negotiation demands, his letter to Donald Tusk with his proposals and the Commons statement about them
Cameron’s EU renegotiation speech - Snap verdict
Cameron’s speech and letter to Tusk - Summary
Commons statement on renegotiation - Summary
Government puts plans to relax Sunday trading laws on hold
Afternoon summary
5.50pm GMT
DWP "the home of reliable stats" on no of EU migrants in UK claiming benefits - offered as "a one off analysis". https://t.co/dyok3UvC9y
Trade unionists are real people and it’s not just trade unions and trade unionists who object to this bill. The government has significantly failed to secure any substantial employer support for these proposals.
4.39pm GMT
Here’s Angus Robertson, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, on the government’s decision to shelve the plans to liberalise the Sunday trading laws. (See 4.08pm.)
I’m delighted; this is a U-turn by the government to a proposal which may well have been detrimental to workers both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. This is yet another example of the SNP operating as the effective opposition at Westminster; we’re very pleased that they’ve pulled their plans. I think it is possible to reach safeguards and guarantees to make sure that shop workers are not worse off. We are supporters of Sunday trading, we think Sunday trading is a good thing. But it shouldn’t happen on the back of often lower paid shop staff in Scotland and throughout the rest of the UK.
4.36pm GMT
Here are four blogs on David Cameron’s speech worth reading.
Having committed himself to a phoney renegotiation, [Cameron] played out the charade with brio, characterising Britain as a country of cool heads and controlled passions—“natural debunkers” as he only somewhat oddly put it—and himself as its epitome: a rational, moderate type with neither the federal zeal of Europe’s integrationist intellectuals nor the spittle-flecking fury of Britain’s most isolationist Europhobes. He tacitly conceded that he would back membership, come what may; setting out a list of demands variously symbolic and uncontentious and producing a fairly gutsy case for an In vote. Mr Cameron’s most troublesome ask, the four-year benefit freeze, he downgraded from a firm request to an indication of the sort of arrangement he would like to reach. The six-page letter to Mr Tusk, published shortly after the speech, added few details but for a list of bullet points concerning Britain’s role as a non euro-zone country in an EU dominated by that currency. These were essentially reactive, responding to recent continental attempts (all unsuccessful) to secure British contributions to the Greek bailout, force European clearing houses out of London and leave Britain vulnerable to strong-arming by the euro-zone on matters of financial regulation.
We heard again today from David Cameron the argument that voting to stay in Europe is all about national security. One old Europe hand said: “They’re hoping Putin will win this for them.” George Osborne deployed the argument heavily in Berlin last week.
And it sounds like the government has decided to layer another message on as well.
When I was Europe Minister (2002-2005) the UK removed the reference to ‘ever closer union’ (ECU) as part of the negotiations over the then draft constitutional Treaty which was voted down by the French and Dutch. No-one noticed the change of language on ECU and no Tory MP thanked me at the time. The phrase which is in the preamble and has no legal effect has not been a cause of concern between 1957 until a year or two ago. It will easy to draft a declaration that in any future Treaty, the UK can have a protocol added to the treaty saying ECU does not apply.
4.35pm GMT
Speaking in Bilbao on Tuesday, Spain’s foreign minister said that the possibility of Britain leaving the EU year could not be ruled out.
“There is a risk that the UK will leave the EU,” said José Manuel García-Margallo as he addressed a conference in the northern Spanish city, adding that it would be “bad news” if it happened.
4.35pm GMT
In a newspaper interview before Cameron’s speech, Poland’s incoming minister for European Affairs, Konrad Szymanski (who will be sworn in on Thursday) told Rzeczpospolita that his government would back Germany’s opposition Brexit.
“No one understands the importance of fighting a British exit better than Berlin and Warsaw,’’ he said. He also said the new Polish government would be ‘’very likely’’ to support Germany’s position on British attempts to renegotiate its membership.
4.18pm GMT
The BBC is saying the plans to relax the Sunday trading laws have been put on hold. But the government is rejecting suggestions that there has been any kind of U-turn.
PM's spokeswoman denying Sunday trading U-turn: "We've had a consultation and will give a detailed response setting out next steps."
4.08pm GMT
The government has decided to put its plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws in England and Wales on hold.
That follows the revelation yesterday that the SNP were planning to vote against.
Breaking News: Welcome Sunday trading u-turn by UK govt after pressure from @theSNP to safeguard shop staff pay across Scotland & the UK
4.04pm GMT
The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, has said he is opposed to David Cameron’s plans to restrict EU migrants’ access to benefits.
Here is the quote (if you can read it).
Now the #Czech PM @BohuslavSobotka joining criticism of @David_Cameron's #EU letter on internal migration issues. pic.twitter.com/fSJmE6ytKn
For the Czech Republic, however, any intrusion into the free movement principle is a very serious problem.
3.57pm GMT
Here’s Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, on Cameron’s speech.
Contradictory @David_Cameron speech: 'UK needs EU for its security'. But sec not part of renegot. So if renegot fails how can he say quit?
3.52pm GMT
Here’s David Cameron dodging what he described as a “brilliantly constructed” question from my colleague Nicholas Watt.
Here's proof @David_Cameron determined to remain in EU. Dodges my ‘brilliantly constructed' Q on #brexit options https://t.co/z4Mxki15hW
3.44pm GMT
The European People’s Party (EPP), the main centre-right group in the European parliament, has now put out a more lengthy statement about Cameron’s speech. It’s more detailed than the tweet earlier from Manfred Weber, the EPP chair (see 12.01pm.) and broadly positive. Weber says:
The EPP wants the UK to remain a member of the EU. We stand ready to work together with the British government to find a deal which is acceptable to all sides. We support the points raised by prime minister Cameron on the need to increase competitiveness and cut burdens on businesses in the EU, which are already part of the Juncker Commission’s programme. Finding an agreement on other points, such as ways to increase the role of national parliaments, should be possible.
3.39pm GMT
And here is the response to Cameron’s speech from Leave.EU, the other main Out campaign.
It is clear that David Cameron is not asking for anything substantial in this so called renegotiation. In the 45 minutes that he spoke, he made no mention of the issues that our supporters are so passionate about: making our own decisions in parliament, reducing our membership fee and being able to control our borders.
What he did ask for was a series of written confirmations of the status quo, which include Britain not joining the euro as well as remaining exempt from an ever closer union. However, as the Danish will show next month, opt-out can soon become opt-ins if a Europhile government ever comes to power.
3.32pm GMT
Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, has said that the EU renegotiations will lead to “blood on the floor” in Brussels. Speaking in Israel, where he is on a visit, he said:
I think it’ll be tough. There will be a long period now of quite scratchy negotiations. I think there will come a great sort of juddering moment - there will be blood all over the carpet at some point in Brussels. I don’t know when that will happen but I hope very much that we will get the deal by the end of next year.
3.26pm GMT
Vote Leave, probably the most prominent Out campaign, has published a lengthy briefing document on its website challenging the claims in David Cameron’s speech on multiple grounds.
And here is reaction from its campaign director, Dominic Cummings.
The public wants the end of the supremacy of EU law, to take back control of our democracy and borders, and to spend the money wasted in Brussels on our priorities like the NHS and science. Cameron’s renegotiation isn’t even asking for this - he is only promising to change what he already thinks the EU will give him and people won’t trust his spin. The safest choice is to Vote Leave.
3.14pm GMT
My colleague Ian Traynor has written a good analysis of David Cameron’s letter to Donald Tusk, and how achievable his goals are.
Related: David Cameron's EU demands letter explained
Privately, EU officials concede that Downing Street’s shopping list is quite modest and easily negotiable, but they do not say so publicly for fearing of stirring resentment among British Eurosceptics.
But the broader concern in Brussels and elsewhere has less to do with Cameron’s demands and the state of the negotiations. Rather, the Europeans are worried about the referendum itself and the distinct possibility that the negotiations will be a waste of time if Britain votes against staying in the EU.
2.43pm GMT
Commons statement on the EU renegotiation - Summary: The phoney war within the Conservative party is over. That is probably the most important thing we gleaned from David Lidington’s 90-minute Commons statement on the EU renegotiation.
Ever since David Cameron announced the EU referendum in his Bloomberg speech in January 2013, the two Tory Euro tribes (it used to be the Eurosceptics and the Europhiles, but they are all Eurosceptics now - the divide is between the Out Eurosceptics and the In Eurosceptics) have been engaged in an uneasy stand-off. Some Outers felt reluctant to commit themselves publicly to voting for withdrawal because it seemed more diplomatic to concede that it was best to wait until the outcome of the renegotiation before taking a final decision.
1.59pm GMT
Peter Bone, a Conservative, says he wants to thank Cameron for making it clear that, after the renegotiation, Britain will still be part of a political union and there will still be free movement. Now it is clear that Britain should vote to leave, he says.
Lidington says that he assumed Bone was going to take that view whatever Cameron announced.
1.57pm GMT
“The poker game has begun,” wrote France’s leading paper Le Monde. “Worried about holding onto the maximum of cards in this game of uncertain outcome, Mr Cameron is putting the minimum on the table.”
The paper said his demands had been known for weeks but he had simply matched them with a “hypothetical promise” to campaign with all his heart and soul to stay in Europe if agreement was met.
1.52pm GMT
James Cleverly, a Conservative, says Britain should form more separate agreements with Commonwealth countries.
Lidington says the Commonwealth countries only account for 17% of world trade. And it is much easier to strike a trade deal as part of a 500m-strong bloc, he says.
1.49pm GMT
Chris Heaton-Harris, a Conservative, asks Lidington what his assessment, given the delays over TTIP, of the EU’s ability to trade deals.
Lidington says, as a large bloc, the EU has much more clout in trade negotiations than a single country.
1.47pm GMT
The Labour MP Paula Sherriff asks if renegotiating the EU tax rules that result in the tampon tax will part of the renegotiation?
Lidington says the Treasury gave a commitment to look at this when it was debated in the Commons recently.
1.42pm GMT
Mark Durkan, the SDLP, says it is said Christopher Columbus did not know where he was going when he went to America, did not know where he was when he was there, and did not know where he had been when he got back. Isn’t Cameron in a similar position? He also says that, by presenting this as “Cameron’s renegotiation”, there is a danger of making the referendum about Cameron.
Lidington says he enjoyed the joke, but that Columbus is now remembered for bringing us into a new age.
1.35pm GMT
Labour’s Steve McCabe asks how quickly the government could hold a referendum.
Lidington says the referendum bill will have to have gone through parliament, and the renegotiation will have to be concluded. Then there will have to be time for the secondary legislation setting up the referendum to go through the Commons and the Lords. Then you need to allow for the 10-week campaign period.
1.33pm GMT
The SNP’s Stuart Donaldson asks what has been included in the plan from Scotland’s agenda for EU reform.
Lidington says the SNP want to deepen the single market and increase EU access to other markets. He says the government always makes the interests of the Scotch whisky industry a priority.
1.31pm GMT
David Nuttall, a Conservative, says there is nothing in the letter about regaining control of immigration, or fishing or farming. Today is the day when it became clear that the renegotiation did not involve power coming back to the UK, he says.
Lidington says Nuttall has understated what is at stake.
1.30pm GMT
Here’s the Ukip MP Douglas Carswell on how Lidington is getting on in the Commons.
Lidington getting hammered repeatedly by his own side
1.29pm GMT
Labour’s Clive Efford asks why Cameron has not said whether he is for or against staying.
Lidington says Cameron will make his view clear at the end of the process. It would be odd to prejudge the renegotiation, he says.
1.27pm GMT
Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative, asks: “Is that it? Is that the sum total of the government’s position in this renegotiation?” Why should we put up with being a “second-tier” country, and losing more and more power.
Lidington says Jenkin underestimates how far-reaching these plans are. He quotes what the Danish prime minister said earlier. (See 12.43pm.)
1.24pm GMT
Hywel Williams, the Plaid Cyrmu MP, asks how the government will distinguish between state subsidies for EU workers, that it says it wants to stop, and tax credits for UK citizens.
Lidington says the renegotiation will address this.
1.23pm GMT
Tom Brake, the Lib Dem MP, asks Lidington to confirm that Cameron won’t insist on getting every single one of his goals before deciding to back remaining in the EU.
Lidington says the government will insist on satisfactory progress in all four areas that are part of the renegotiation.
1.19pm GMT
Sir Gerald Howarth, a Conservative, says it is important to return powers to parliament. How will the plan to allow national parliaments to block EU law actually work?
Lidington says the treaties already allow a group of national parliaments to demand a review of EU proposals. The government would like to turn that into the right to block a proposal; in other words, turning a yellow card into a red card.
1.17pm GMT
Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative chair of the Commons Treasury committee, says the proposals on “ever closer union” will have very little effect unless they are accompanied by fundamental plans to re-allocate powers within the EU.
Lidington says Tyrie’s recent pamphlet on plans for EU reform included some interesting and constructive ideas.
1.14pm GMT
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Conservative, says Cameron’s plans are “pretty thin gruel” and much less than people expected. Its main aim seems to be to make Harold Wilson’s renegotiation look respectable, he says. There should be more power for the UK parliament, not just national parliaments generally.
Lidington says that approach would mean any one parliament could veto EU measures in the UK national interest.
1.10pm GMT
Back in the Commons Peter Lilley, the Conservative Eurosceptic, says Cameron is just trying to get “symbolic” changes. Changing the wording on “ever closer union” will not make much difference because these words have never been used against the UK in court, he says. He says Cameron should focus on getting the repatriation of important powers.
Lidington says the point about “ever closer union” is that it implies there is only one kind of EU. The government wants to see much better acceptance of the EU’s diversity.
1.09pm GMT
The Handelsblatt, Germany’s leading business daily called Cameron’s speech and the letter to Donald Tusk not only a “formal starting signal for negotiations with Brussels” and a “delivery” of “British demands and the reasons for them”, but said they contained “warning shots to all sides”.
To his own people Cameron hoped to show “that he is serious about these negotiations, and that what he wants is manageable and sensible”. But the paper added in its commentary: “It is not completely new.”
1.04pm GMT
Crispin Blunt, the Conservative chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, asks Lidington to describe the different legal mechanisms available for ensuring the proposals take effect.
Lidington says he cannot. There is a menu of options, he says. The technical talks that have already taken place have gone into what the options are, such as treaty change, domestic legislation, and secondary legislation.
1.01pm GMT
Sir Bill Cash, a Conservative, says the proposals are a “pig in a poke”. Almost all of the proposals will require treaty change. But that is not on offer, so how will the government get the guarantees it wants.
Lidington says the models offered to Denmark and Ireland (legally-binding protocols, promising to change EU treaties in the future) offer a way forward.
12.59pm GMT
Stephen Gethins, the SNP spokesman, says a year ago Scotland was told that if it voted for independence it would be out of the EU.
Now it is the British government that is threatening to take Scotland out of the EU.
12.56pm GMT
Lidington is responding to McFadden.
He says no one in the government is proposing what McFadden described as “a big bonfire of workers rights”.
EU minister @DLidington confirms @David_Cameron prepared to retreat from 4 year ban on EU migrants claiming in work benefits 1/2
. @DLidington tells @HouseofCommons: EU countries free to put forward ideas that deliver UK objective - better control of immigration 2/2
Here's the full killer quote from David Lidington, confirming Cameron paving way for retreat on 4-year-benefit ban. pic.twitter.com/jfyoAEuYzW
12.54pm GMT
The Lib Dems have issued a statement from Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, saying Cameron’s speech was so pro-European he sounded like Ken Clarke. Farron said:
It looks like the coalition has rubbed off on the prime minister. He has recognised that EU membership is critical to the UK’s security as well as prosperity. In places I thought Ken Clarke had become prime minister.
The prime minister must now stand up to the Europhobes on his backbenches and negotiate an acceptable package of changes and persuade the British public to support it.
12.51pm GMT
Pat McFadden, the shadow Europe minister, says that Tory Eurosceptics are desperate for David Cameron’s renegotiation to fail?
He asks Lidingtonto accept that seeking associate or second-class membership of the EU would be wrong.
12.46pm GMT
Lidington says there are 12 parliamentary inquiries looking at the EU renegotiation.
The government will not provide a running commentary on the renegotiation, but it will cooperate with the inquiries, he says.
12.45pm GMT
In the Commons David Lidington repeats, almost word for word, what David Cameron said in his speech about being “open” to different ways of tackling the problem of EU migrants’ access to benefits. This is what Cameron said in his speech.
We have proposed that people coming to Britain from the EU must live here and contribute for four years before they qualify for in work benefits or social housing. And that we should end the practice of sending child benefit overseas. Now, I understand how difficult some of these welfare issues are for other Member States.And I am open to different ways of dealing with this issue.
12.43pm GMT
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, has used Twitter to say David Cameron’s speech provides a “good basis for concrete negotiations”.
@David_Cameron Good basis for concrete negotiations. It will be difficult. I hope we will succeed because we need a strong UK in EU. #dkpol
12.38pm GMT
David Lidington, the Europe minister, is making a statement to the Commons now about the EU renegotiation.
At the moment he is just running through some of the points that David Cameron made in his speech. I won’t report comments repeating what we’ve already heard, but will flag up material that’s new.
12.30pm GMT
Here is a summary of the main points from Cameron’s speech and letter.
As I have said previously, we can reduce the flow of people coming from within the EU by reducing the draw that our welfare system can exert across Europe. So we have proposed that people coming to Britain from the EU must live here and contribute for four years before they qualify for inwork benefits or social housing. And that we should end the practice of sending child benefit overseas.
I understand how difficult some of these issues are for other member states and I look forward to dicussing these proposals further so we can find a solution that deals with this issue.
First, I want to end Britain’s obligation to work towards an “ever closer union” as set out in the Treaty. It is very important to make clear that this commitment will no longer apply to the United Kingdom. I want to do this in a formal, legally-binding and irreversible way.
Second, while the European Parliament plays an important role, I want to enhance the role of national parliaments, by proposing a new arrangement where groups of national parliaments, acting together, can stop unwanted legislative proposals. The precise threshold of national parliaments required will be a matter for the negotiation.
The UK believes in an open economy. But we have got to be able to cope with all the pressures that free movement can bring - on our schools, our hospitals and our public services. Right now, the pressures are too great.
The issue is one of scale and speed. Unlike some other Member States, Britain’s population is already expanding. Our population is set to reach over 70 million in the next decades and we are forecast to become the most populous country in the EU by 2050. At the same time, our net migration is running at over 300,000 a year. That is not sustainable. We have taken lots of steps to control immigration from outside the EU. But we need to be able to exert greater control on arrivals from inside the EU too.
That is a matter for the negotiation, not least as there may, in each case, be different ways of achieving the same result.
We will enshrine in our domestic law that the EU charter of fundamental rights does not create any new rights. We will make it explicit to our courts that they cannot use the EU charter as the basis for any new legal challenge citing spurious new human rights grounds.
We will also examine whether we can go one step further.We need to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. For example, the Constitutional Court in Germany retains the right to review whether essential constitutional freedoms are respected when powers are transferred to Europe. And it also reserves the right to review legal acts by European institutions and courts to check that they remain within the scope of the EU’s powers or whether they have overstepped the mark. We will consider how this could be done in the UK.
12.09pm GMT
Here is some Twitter comment on the speech from journalists.
From the Economist’s Jeremy Cliffe
Context: over a decade since proportion citing the EU as one of most important issues facing Britain exceeded 13% (Ipsos Mori/Economist).
Speech verdict: preposterous logic ("rule nothing out" yet minor/uncontroversial changes) but probably the right pitch ahead of referendum.
Cameron's basic gambit: if nonsensical objections to the EU from Eurosceptic MPs and tabloids demand a nonsensical renegotiation, so be it.
Econ principles in @David_Cameron #Brexit letter to @DonaldTusk. Nothing jumps out as particularly controversial pic.twitter.com/9GCdAfy1LR
Curious line in Cameron EU letter. Means no more EU-wide centralisation on fin serv - eg no EU markets regulator pic.twitter.com/utQtndgz6W
12.08pm GMT
Dominic Cummings, campaign director of Vote Leave, says the most significant thing about David Cameron’s speech was what he had to say about the European Court of Justice and the charter of fundamental rights. (See 9.35am.)
1/ News in speech is undeliverable promise on Charter. NB. Big error to assume DC team understands the constitutional niceties...
2/ Can only stop Charter having effect in UK courts via primary lgsltn 'notwithstanding ECA1972'. Wd be in fundamental conflict with m/ship
3/ ECJ & our courts have already ruled Charter has direct effect in UK. DC is snookered & policy will be spin like on ECHR
4/ DC will get his 4 trivial demands. Who cares. Doesn't solve anything significant. Shallow speech unfit for scale of UK/EU challenges
5/ What happens after we #VoteLeave isn't up to Cameron - it'll be up to his successor, about which he'd be smart to stop speculating
NB. DC's letter to Tusk does NOT mention his spin on Charter of Fundamental Rights this morning! Why? See earlier tweets. Classic UberPundit
12.04pm GMT
Here is some Labour reaction to David Cameron’s speech.
From Stewart Wood, Ed Miliband’s former policy adviser
Cameron's EU speech Part 1: Unless things change I don't rule out leaving EU Part 2: Our national interest clearly points to staying in EU
Disappointing that @David_Cameron's EU shopping list fails to mention rules to protect wages & prevent under-cutting. Business before people
12.01pm GMT
This is from Manfred Weber, a Germany MEP from the CSU (which is in alliance with Angela Merkel’s CDU) who heads the European People’s Party (EPP), the main centre-right group in the European parliament (the one the Tories left).
We share Mr Cameron's view on the need to increase competitiveness & cut red tape, already in the @JunckerEU programme #CHspeech @EPPGroup
11.51am GMT
The European Commission said this morning that David Cameron’s call for restrictions on the right of EU migrants to claim benefits in the UK is “highly problematic”. Asked at a news conference for the commission’s initial reaction to the letter, chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas said:
Prima facie we see a number of elements which appear to be feasible, like finding ways to increase the role of national parliaments, some issues which are difficult, like ever closer union and relations between the euro ins and outs, and some things which are highly problematic as they touch upon the fundamental freedoms of the internal market. Direct discrimination between EU citizens clearly falls into this last category.
11.48am GMT
The TUC says it is worried that David Cameron’s EU renegotiation may undermine workers’ rights. This is form its general secretary, Frances O’Grady.
The prime minister has gone quiet on rhetorical threats to the paid holidays and family-friendly rights that Europe brings, but we need to see the small print.
David Cameron must spell out his position on workers’ rights. People are more likely to vote to stay in a Europe that balances benefits for business with strong rights and protections for workers.
11.47am GMT
This is from Jenny Hill, the BBC’s Berlin correspondent.
Here's what one senior German me re Cameron: Germany will do its utmost to keep uk in eu. Whether that's enough is up to the uk
11.45am GMT
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, says he will begin talks with EU member states next week on the EU demands.
Next week, I will launch bilateral consultations with Member States as well as EP on topics to be addressed in #UKinEU negotiations
11.41am GMT
Here is the full text of David Cameron’s six-page letter to Donald Tusk
11.36am GMT
(The material that was here is now in the post at 12.30pm.)
11.23am GMT
No 10 has sent out the letter in a form that doesn’t make it easy to copy. So I will be writing it up the old-fashioned way. I’m just going through it now.
11.22am GMT
Here is the full text of David Cameron’s speech.
11.19am GMT
Journalists have got the letter too.
Here’s how it starts.
11.17am GMT
Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, has received the letter from David Cameron setting out the UK’s renegotiation demands.
The renegotiation is now officially underway, he says.
Acknowledgement of receipt. With @David_Cameron's letter, negotiations on #UKinEU can now begin
11.11am GMT
The Times’s Sam Coates says Number 10 seem to be on the retreat on the issue of restricting EU migrants’ access to benefits for four years.
No10 now say the goal of Tory manifesto is reducing scale and speed of migration, 4yr benefit ban only a preferred means but open to others
11.06am GMT
Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP and a member of the Britain Stronger in Europe board, has put out a statement saying Cameron’s speech was “deeply depressing”. She said:
Cameron’s vision for an EU based on little more than an increasingly deregulated free market is deeply depressing.
The EU has given us so much – free movement and the right to make a living across a continent, protections at work and key environmental laws – yet the prime minister wants to reduce our relationships with neighbouring countries to little more than business transactions. That’s not a vision I share.
10.58am GMT
Cameron’s speech - Snap verdict: It is hard to write a story about the “tone” of a speech, but that maybe what was most significant about what David Cameron had to say today. The full text of his speech is not yet available (it will be here later). Listening to it, nothing leapt out as particularly novel about his negotiating position, although once we’ve had a chance to pore over the text, and read the letter to Donald Tusk, doubtless the EUologists will find some nuances of significance.
Cameron seemed much more interested in the overall impression he was creating; in asserting that his demands were far-reaching and significant, but at the same time reasonable; and in proving that he was prepared to be constructive and cooperative with EU partners, but that at the same time he was determined to get what he wanted. And in this respect the speech was probably quite effective. He did make it sound as if his renegotiation would be meaningful, and not doomed to fail. He made this point particularly well in the Q&A, when the BBC’s James Landale asked him what you could summarise as the Nigel Farage question (‘Isn’t this all a bit feeble?’ - see 10.26am). Cameron said people could not claim that his goals were insubstantial, but also tell him he had no chance of getting what he wanted. (See 10.03am.) The prime minister may not be the best strategist or negotiator in UK politics, but he is one of the best communicators. It was interesting to hear him repeatedly refer to his general election mandate, and he sounded like someone who has given a great deal of thought to how to articulate public opinion on this issue.
10.26am GMT
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, is out of the blocks with his reaction.
Clear that Mr Cameron is not aiming for any substantial renegotiation. No promise to regain the supremacy of parliament. Nothing on ending the free movement of people. And no attempt to reduce Britain’s massive contribution to the EU budget.
His speech was an attempt to portray a new ‘third way’ relationship with Brussels that is simply not on offer.
10.16am GMT
Q: Are you worried an Out vote could lead to the break-up of the UK?
Cameron says this is a decision for the whole of the UK. He is sure this is the right process to follow, a renegotiation followed by a referendum.
10.14am GMT
Q: [From my colleague Nicholas Watt] You are ruled out the Norwegian option and the Swiss option for live outside the EU. That leaves the Turkish customs union option, or the WTO option? You have not ruled out leaving. So which would you prefer?
Cameron says that is a brilliantly-constructed question. But at this point he wants to stay in. If he does not get what he wants, and decides to leave, at that point he will answer the question.
10.10am GMT
Q: Lord Lawson said last night you had been “disappointingly unambitious” and that your demands, in fishing terms, were “tiddlers”. Are you hoping to get something better?
Cameron says, with the renegotiation, “what you hear is what you are going to get”.
10.08am GMT
Cameron says the changes he wants require a mixture of things: legislative changes, treaty change, technical changes.
On the subject of treaty change, he wants a commitment to legally-binding changes, such as those set out in the Danish protocol.
10.07am GMT
Q: Can you confirm that you don’t want changes to the working-time directive?
Cameron says preserving the opt-out is part of the competitive agenda he wants to address.
10.03am GMT
Q: Is it clear this is not as substantial as you originally thought? There is no emergency brake, there is no repatriation of power of labour laws, there is no treaty change.
Cameron says the BBC cannot have it both ways: saying this is impossible to achieve, but also insubstantial. The truth is somewhere in between, he suggests.
10.00am GMT
Cameron is now taking questions.
Q: Is there any prospect of getting the renegotiation finished soon?
9.56am GMT
Cameron says “with patience, goodwill and ingenuity” this can be done.
And it will make Britain, and the EU, safer and more prosperous for years to come.
9.55am GMT
Cameron says getting these changes will be a big task.
But they are not impossible.
There will be those who say – here and elsewhere in the EU – that we are embarked on mission impossible. I say: ‘Why?’ I do not deny that seeking changes which require the agreement of 27 other democracies, all with their own concerns, is a big task. But an impossible one? I do not believe so for a minute.
9.54am GMT
Cameron says there will not be a second vote; this is the final choice.
9.53am GMT
Cameron says it is a matter of judgment whether Britain would be more secure inside the EU or outside.
And ultimately it will be the judgment of the British people in the referendum that I promised and that I will deliver.
You will have to judge what is best for you and your family, and for our country.
9.52am GMT
I am not saying for one moment that Britain couldn’t survive outside the European Union.
Of course we could.
9.51am GMT
Cameron says leaving the EU could pose security problems.
When he gave his Bloomberg speech, Islamic State (he calls it Isil) was not a problem, he says.
9.49am GMT
Cameron says those who advocated British withdrawal say Britain could be like Norway.
But that would mean Britain would have to comply with regulations it could not help write. Single markets have rules, and to have access to the single market, you have to conform with the rules.
9.47am GMT
Cameron says there are real problems with the status quo.
Those who advocating staying at all costs have serious questions to answer.
The question is whether we would be more successful in than out?
Whether being in the European Union adds to our economic security or detracts from it?
9.46am GMT
Cameron says he has achieved changes in the EU before. He has used the veto, insisted on budget cuts, and, by exercising the justice and home affairs opt-outs, achieved “the largest repatriation of power” since Britain joined the EU.
9.44am GMT
Cameron says, if he gets what he wants, he will campaign vigorously for Britain to stay in the EU.
But if he does not get a satisfactory deal, he rules nothing out.
9.44am GMT
Cameron says being “reasonable” should not be mistaken for lacking resolve.
Britain is one of the most powerful countries in the EU.
9.41am GMT
Cameron says his proposals are not “outlandish or absurb”.
They are reasonable, he says.
9.41am GMT
Cameron says these are his four main demands.
How these are achieved will be a matter for negotiation, he says.
9.40am GMT
Cameron says he put forward four ideas to tackle “benefit tourism” (my phrase, not his) at the election.
Two have already been introduced: Stopping EU migrants getting universal credit while looking for work, and ensuring that after six months without a job, EU jobseekers lose their right to stay.
9.39am GMT
Cameron says the government needs more power to control immigration from inside the EU.
The principle of free movement of labour is fundamental, he says. Many Britons take advantage of it.
9.35am GMT
Cameron says the government will reform Britain’s relationship with the European court of human rights by introducing a British bill of rights.
And the government will make it explicit that the European court of justice (the EU body, unlike the ECHR which is not part of the EU) cannot create new rights, he says.
PM: we will look at how GErmany uses constitutional court -- to make sure EU judgements compatible with UK (supreme court?)
9.32am GMT
Cameron says national parliaments must be given more say.
They are the bodies to which prime ministers like him are accounable.
Cameron: "I can tell you today..." Lobby perks up. "....I'm asking for legally binding irreversible agreement.. " Lobby perks back down.
9.30am GMT
And he turns to his third point, the legitimacy of the EU.
It must be established that Britain is exempt from the “ever closer union” obligations in the EU treaties.
9.29am GMT
Cameron says more most be done to make the EU competitive.
9.29am GMT
Cameron says some principles must be established to achieve this. These include:
9.26am GMT
Cameron turns to the eurozone.
The EU and the eurozone are not the same thing.
9.23am GMT
Cameron says, in his Bloomberg speech, he said the EU faced three real problems:
1 - A crisis in the eurozone.
9.21am GMT
Cameron says Britain has always been an “engaged nation”, because that is the best way to protect the national interest.
And then he goes into a passage pre-briefed in advance.
I am in no doubt that for Britain the European question is not just a matter of economic security, but of national security too – not just a matter of jobs and trade but of the safety and security of our nation.
9.19am GMT
Cameron says he comes to this question “with a frame of mind that is practical, not emotional, head not heart”.
Some Europeans may be disappointed by this, he says.
9.17am GMT
Cameron says his focus is on doing what is right for Britain.
And “more Europe” is not always right for the country, he says.
9.16am GMT
Cameron says the challenges facing the EU have grown since he gave his Bloomberg speech committing himself to a referendum in January 2013.
If anything, the case for reform is even stronger, he says.
9.14am GMT
David Cameron is speaking now.
He says he has honoured his promise to legislate for an EU referendum.
9.12am GMT
Here is more from Jonathan Portes on the “benefit tourism” figures.
Alternative headline: PM to say EU new arrivals 1% of non-retired population, 0.5% of benefit spending.. https://t.co/yfJscNkiyU
So the bottom line is that there are indeed lots of EU migrants claiming tax credits (but not other welfare benefits); this isn’t much of an economic problem from an economic perspective, although it does raise issues of “fairness”; the government’s proposals will be difficult (although perhaps not impossible) to negotiate; and the impact on immigration flows would be fairly small.
9.05am GMT
Jonathan Portes, the former chief economist at the Department for Work and Pensions and head of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, is a persistent critic of government’s claims about so-called “benefit tourism”. He is not impressed by the figures released by Number 10 overnight. (See 8.47am.)
This is a preliminary analysis from @jdportes of Niesr on the migrant figs methodology. pic.twitter.com/zm7BSRwGvo
8.56am GMT
David Cameron is at Chatham House. The hashtag for his speech is #chspeech.
8.56am GMT
Here is the scene where David Cameron is due to speak.
The global (and European) stage is set for David Cameron's Big Speech on the eu referendum pic.twitter.com/4GRE1Fexrh
8.47am GMT
What does David Cameron want to achieve in his EU renegotiation? Today we’re going to get a definitive statement, in a speech from David Cameron, and then in a letter he is sending to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council. In truth, the letter will be more of a one-document compilation of everything that has gone before, rather than a detailed wishlist that breaks new ground, but this is an important moment in the renegotiation process and - given the distinct possibility that the referendum could leave to Britain leaving - in the history of Britain’s relationship with the EU generally.
Here is Nicholas Watt’s preview story for the Guardian. And this is what he says about the key four demands.
Cameron will say that the changes must “tackle abuses of the right to free movement, and enable us to control migration from the European Union, in line with my manifesto”.
This refers to the section of the Tories’ general election manifesto which said: “Changes to welfare to cut EU migration will be an absolute requirement in the renegotiation. We have already banned housing benefit for EU jobseekers, and restricted other benefits, including jobseeker’s allowance. We will insist that EU migrants who want to claim tax credits and child benefit must live here and contribute to our country for a minimum of four years.”
[Cameron] will say that 43 per cent of EU migrants rely on the support of the UK benefits system during their first four years in the country. This represents 224,000 EU nationals out of 526,000 new arrivals.
About 148,000 of these claimants, some 66 per cent, receive tax credits, housing benefit and other welfare handouts available to people in work.
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