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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.

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.

  Additionally, the latest results show widespread distrust in our politicians when the police, employment and phone hacking are involved. When it comes to ensuring justice on the hacking scandal, half (50%) do not trust any of the party leaders. A quarter (27%) trust David Cameron, 16% trust Ed Miliband and only 7% trust Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to ensure justice.   Similarly, more than half (55%) do not trust our party leaders to root out corruption in the police; employ people with strong moral values (55%) – a nod to Cameron hiring Andy Coulson – or to get rid of corruption in British politics (56%).   In the wake of the phone hacking scandal, a staggering four out of five (80%) do not trust the media, while just one in ten (10%) do and 10% don’t know. Alleged police involvement in the phone hacking scandal has lead to concern that there is wider corruption in the police force, with 77% who agree they are worried and a minimal 12% who disagree.

If David Cameron, a man who has many sterling qualities and does have the capacity for greatness, does turn out to be a true heir to Blair, in the sense that he's just as deceitful, then it will be a calamity for Britain. It would mean that the direction of our national affairs had fallen into the hands of a narrow political class which is utterly devoid of morality and with it, the ability to connect with ordinary people. It would suggest that the cynics really are correct and that there really is no difference between the main political parties, and that leading politicians - in their bond of deceitfulness - have far more in common with each other than they do with ordinary voters. It would suggest that something terrible happens to British politicians when they get office and they at once start to lie and cheat.