David Cameron is hoping for an EU agreement to rebrand the UK as a second-tier member and an “emergency brake” on immigration if public services are overwhelmed, according to reports.
The prime minister is said to be hoping these will be among several surprise concessions from the EU in order to persuade people that they should vote in favour of Britain’s membership in the referendum expected this year.
Cameron is pushing for a deal securing reforms of the EU at a summit in February, enabling him to call a vote in June. He is preparing to throw his weight behind the campaign to stay in, with Nick Herbert, a leading eurosceptic, who led the push to keep the UK out of the euro, taking on a new role as head of the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU.
However, polling by Survation in the Mail on Sunday found support building for exit from the EU, with 42% in favour of leaving, 38% for remaining, with 20% yet to make up their mind.
Cameron has struggled to get agreement from the other 27 leaders in the EU for his aims on limiting migrant benefits, having demanded they live in the UK for four years before they can claim.
However, a report in the Sunday Times said Cameron is nearing a deal on alternative proposals. It said he is hoping to rebrand Britain as a different sort of member state in the outer circle of Europe, and the revival of the idea of an “emergency brake” on EU migration to Britain, enabling the government to block new arrivals if public services become overwhelmed.
It also said Cameron will try to change domestic law to make clear that parliament is sovereign and that courts are not bound by Europe’s charter of fundamental rights.
This would come on top of some of Cameron’s other demands, which are already believed to have been secured, including a red card system for groups of national parliaments to block EU laws, and protections for non-eurozone countries.
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem former deputy prime minister, appeared on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show making the case for staying in the EU “club” but conceded that parts of Cameron’s renegotiation were insubstantial.