The rationale for Europe in the 21st century is stronger than it has ever been. It is essentially about power, not about peace anymore.

here is a very strong and very vocal minority however. Basically, it's an old fashioned form of nationalism. That's what the UK Independence Party is, and it carries with it a very old fashioned set of attitudes and arguments.

"Cameron said very clearly: 'We're not interested in a political union, we want to take care of our own interests and retreat to our island.' But the rest of the continent does want political union because it's indispensible to save the euro and to protect our place on the world arena," Sikorski said. "Great Britain can retreat to its island. But it's in our [Poland's] interest to permanently safeguard our membership in the Latin civilisation, so we need tighter ties with the rest of Europe, not looser ones," he added.

Option three is pragmatic and careful (quite Tory, really): if major changes emerge in Europe in the next five years that shift the balance of power, then a referendum comes on to the agenda. If not, it doesn’t. That is the course that the party leadership has taken, and quite right they are, too.

Cameron’s proposals for gay marriage are blamed by one MP for halving the number of volunteers prepared to help post leaflets or knock on doors come election time.