Graham
10-31-2012, 08:43 PM
EU budget vote: Rebel MPs defeat government over spending cut call
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20157063
31 October 2012 Last updated at 20:03
The government has been defeated in Parliament over its negotiating position on the EU budget.
Rebel Tory MPs joined with Labour and other parties to pass an amendment calling for a real-terms cut in spending between 2014 and 2020.
The coalition says it must be frozen in real terms as a minimum.
The amendment, passed by 307 votes to 294, is not binding on ministers, but is a blow to David Cameron's authority on Europe before key talks next month.
The rebel amendment calling for a real-terms reduction in EU spending was passed after a stormy debate in Commons on the EU's next seven-year budget and UK contributions.
'Fed up'
Government supporters said it would be "nigh on impossible" to negotiate a reduction given lack of support among other EU nations and urged MPs to back Mr Cameron's call for an inflation-linked rise as the minimum acceptable outcome.
But Conservative rebels said Parliament would send a clear message and strengthen Mr Cameron's hand if they backed a spending cut.
"If you think the EU has too much money, its budget is too large and it needs to be cut, then vote for the amendment," Conservative MP Mark Reckless, who spearheaded the rebel position, told MPs.
After the vote, Mr Reckless told the BBC that the UK was "fed up" of giving more money to the EU every year and MPs had made clear a budget cut was the "only thing" they would accept.
"What this is about our constituents money," he told the BBC. "Parliament has spoken very clearly that unless there is a deal which is a cut in the budget which gives money back to taxpayers in this country, it will not get through Parliament."
Amid heated Commons exchanges, Tony Baldry - who was a minister during the government of John Major - accused rebels of "self indulgence" reminiscent of Conservative splits over Europe in the 1990s.
"If this party hopes to be in government after the next general election it has just got to get a grip and start supporting the prime minister," he said.
But fellow Tory Conor Burns rejected analogies with the 1990s. "The is not Maastricht. The Conservative Party is united over Europe."
'Toughest line'
Europe minister David Lidington said the government would listen to views of MPs and suggested the disagreement on the Tory benches was more about "tactics" than substance.
He rejected suggestions Mr Cameron had been weakened, saying the prime minister was demanding something that no British prime minister had ever achieved in the past.
"David Cameron needs to be applauded for taking the toughest line of any British prime minister in the 40 years since we joined the EU," he told Channel 4 News.
"He is allied with a number of other powerful countries in the EU determined to secure much better value for their taxpayer's money and to secure real restraint and discipline on European spending."
The European Commission proposed budget for 2014-2020 would see a 5% increase on the current seven year period.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said he would veto any deal on the budget if he could not get a good deal for Britain and accused Labour of opportunism for calling for a cut when it had presided over huge increases while in government.
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What is the UK's net contribution to the EU?
The UK is one of 12 EU members which makes a net contribution to the EU budget - meaning it pays in more than it gets back in EU funding.
But there are different figures for what the UK's net contribution is depending on how it is calculated.
The EU financial year runs from January to December. The Treasury says that in 2011 the UK net contribution to the EU budget was £8.1bn. But for the UK financial year, running from April 2010 to March 2011, the Treasury says the contribution was £8.91bn.
The European Commission has a different figure. In 2011 it says the UK's net contribution was 7.25bn euros (£5.85bn; $9.4bn).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20157063
31 October 2012 Last updated at 20:03
The government has been defeated in Parliament over its negotiating position on the EU budget.
Rebel Tory MPs joined with Labour and other parties to pass an amendment calling for a real-terms cut in spending between 2014 and 2020.
The coalition says it must be frozen in real terms as a minimum.
The amendment, passed by 307 votes to 294, is not binding on ministers, but is a blow to David Cameron's authority on Europe before key talks next month.
The rebel amendment calling for a real-terms reduction in EU spending was passed after a stormy debate in Commons on the EU's next seven-year budget and UK contributions.
'Fed up'
Government supporters said it would be "nigh on impossible" to negotiate a reduction given lack of support among other EU nations and urged MPs to back Mr Cameron's call for an inflation-linked rise as the minimum acceptable outcome.
But Conservative rebels said Parliament would send a clear message and strengthen Mr Cameron's hand if they backed a spending cut.
"If you think the EU has too much money, its budget is too large and it needs to be cut, then vote for the amendment," Conservative MP Mark Reckless, who spearheaded the rebel position, told MPs.
After the vote, Mr Reckless told the BBC that the UK was "fed up" of giving more money to the EU every year and MPs had made clear a budget cut was the "only thing" they would accept.
"What this is about our constituents money," he told the BBC. "Parliament has spoken very clearly that unless there is a deal which is a cut in the budget which gives money back to taxpayers in this country, it will not get through Parliament."
Amid heated Commons exchanges, Tony Baldry - who was a minister during the government of John Major - accused rebels of "self indulgence" reminiscent of Conservative splits over Europe in the 1990s.
"If this party hopes to be in government after the next general election it has just got to get a grip and start supporting the prime minister," he said.
But fellow Tory Conor Burns rejected analogies with the 1990s. "The is not Maastricht. The Conservative Party is united over Europe."
'Toughest line'
Europe minister David Lidington said the government would listen to views of MPs and suggested the disagreement on the Tory benches was more about "tactics" than substance.
He rejected suggestions Mr Cameron had been weakened, saying the prime minister was demanding something that no British prime minister had ever achieved in the past.
"David Cameron needs to be applauded for taking the toughest line of any British prime minister in the 40 years since we joined the EU," he told Channel 4 News.
"He is allied with a number of other powerful countries in the EU determined to secure much better value for their taxpayer's money and to secure real restraint and discipline on European spending."
The European Commission proposed budget for 2014-2020 would see a 5% increase on the current seven year period.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said he would veto any deal on the budget if he could not get a good deal for Britain and accused Labour of opportunism for calling for a cut when it had presided over huge increases while in government.
-------------------------------
What is the UK's net contribution to the EU?
The UK is one of 12 EU members which makes a net contribution to the EU budget - meaning it pays in more than it gets back in EU funding.
But there are different figures for what the UK's net contribution is depending on how it is calculated.
The EU financial year runs from January to December. The Treasury says that in 2011 the UK net contribution to the EU budget was £8.1bn. But for the UK financial year, running from April 2010 to March 2011, the Treasury says the contribution was £8.91bn.
The European Commission has a different figure. In 2011 it says the UK's net contribution was 7.25bn euros (£5.85bn; $9.4bn).