Europe following Tories’ lead on need for reform, says Hague

The Foreign Secretary and Richmond MP told the Conservative Party conference yesterday that leaders across the continent are starting to follow David Cameron’s lead and consider the various powers they want to claw back from the EU in the years to come.

Mr Hague made clear that Tory euroscepticism should have its limits, warning that Britain must not “pull up the drawbridge” altogether, and should retain a strong voice on the world stage. But he insisted the prospects for Mr Cameron delivering the reformed EU he has promised are increasingly bright, as views about the future of Europe change across the continent.

“When David Cameron set out his vision for real change in Europe, he warned that he’d be denounced as a heretic,” Mr Hague said. “But I can tell you that Europe needs heresy – and his heresy is spreading.

“People used to think there was only one destination – a federal Europe – and the only question was whether you got there in the fast lane or slow lane. They don’t think that any more.

“Governments across Europe are talking about power coming back to the countries of Europe. That is something new.”

With Ukip still riding high in the polls, and the Tories desperately needing to win back core voters in key marginal seats, Mr Hague said only a Conservative government would deliver a referendum on Britain’s role in the EU.

Mr Cameron, meanwhile, made it clear how far he is prepared to go to win back powers from Brussels, warning he is ready to pull the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights if he believes it is necessary to keep Britain safe.

The Prime Minister said he would do “whatever it takes” to ensure that Britain can throw out people who pose a threat to the country and have no right to be here.

He said voters can be confident that a Conservative government after the 2015 general election would make sure this was done, though he indicated that it would not be possible if he was ruling again in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

“What we need to do is look and think what is the outcome we want,” Mr Cameron said.

“I’m less interested in which convention we are signed up to. As Prime Minister, I want to know can I keep our country safe?

“So, for instance, are we able to chuck out of our country people who have no right to be here, who threaten our country? I say we should be able to do that.

“Whatever that takes, we must deliver that outcome.”

Mr Cameron said that there were several options for ensuring that future Prime Ministers have greater powers to remove people who pose a threat to public safety.

This could involve the creation of a British Bill of Rights, which would allow the UK to remain within the human rights convention while being sure that judges at the European Court of Human Rights respect Britain’s decisions, he said.

But asked if it could mean withdrawing from the convention, he replied: “It may be that that is where we end up, but let’s go through the process and work out what is necessary to deliver the effect that we want.”

He added: “People should be in no doubt, under a Conservative-only government led by me, there will be the ability to throw out of our country much more rapidly people who threaten us and our way of life.”