Disquiet amongst right-wing Conservative MPs is growing thanks to David Cameron’s latest announcement on curbing EU migration. The policy, which is widely believed to be unenforceable, has caused outrage because it will be seen as a “cheap stunt” according to Breitbart London sources.
One Eurosceptic Conservative MP, who asked not to be named, said: “It seems Cameron has come up with a solution to the disenchantment of the public over his habit of promising things and failing to deliver them. He’s now decided to promise a whole load of new things he cannot deliver.
“The worst bit about stealing UKIP policies is they fit him like a cheap Oxfam suit. Colleagues are not happy about this.”
The Prime Minister announced that he planned to make an announcement in the future about what he would do to limit EU migration, but this approach has now been derided by all sides of the debate, with leading pro-European Ken Clarke MP claiming it was pandering to “bigotry”.
The tough talk on immigration is seen by the right as an unenforceable stunt to bring back Conservatives who have switched to UKIP. But all sides agree any limit would be impossible to enforce under current EU agreements, making the question of membership fundamental to the whole proposal.
Cameron’s latest idea was announced as morale amongst the Conservative right at the House of Commons is said to be at rock bottom. Many of them remain close friends with Douglas Carswell, who spectacularly won the Clacton by-election earlier this month. Their preference would be to see Cameron lose the leadership, but this is highly unlikely eight months before a general election.
Large swathes of the Conservative parliamentary party risk losing their seats because of policy commitments made by Cameron even though they do not agree with them. However attempts by the party leadership to move away from the left are now being greeted with contempt and suspicion by the voters. Putting MPs in an impossible position.
There is expected to be a leadership challenge after the election, the right are likely to run either Liam Fox or Owen Patterson. Both are former cabinet ministers with extensive government experience.
A UKIP spokesperson was unsympathetic to the complaints of MPs. He said: “These Conservative MPs can either continue to be marginalised and laughed at by Cameron or they can become leaders in the People’s Army. It’s entirely up to them, as Carswell and Reckless discovered… our door is always open.”
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