Dr Kirsty Hughes on Cameron, the UK and Europe

Kirsty Hughes has contributed another blog article to Politics In Spires; this one a reposting of an article in The Huffington Post (12 December).

In it she says, "As the dust settles from this critical summit, the gap between the UK and other European countries has never been wider, nor the UK's influence closer to zero. As Tory sceptics applaud what any sane observer would call a major foreign policy disaster, could it be that Cameron is in the process of taking the UK out of the EU without a referendum?"

Kirsty can also be seen here commenting for CNN while at the summit in Brussels (8 December) in which Prime Minister David Cameron vetoed the proposed treaty changes on the grounds that they were against the national interest. She also appeared on CNN the day after, and on the James Cannon show on BBC Radio Oxford, where she can be heard here (c. 1.08.33 on the iPlayer clock).

Kirsty appeared on the Phil Gayle show on BBC Radio Oxford (13 December), in which she was asked whether the summit might have actually left the UK in a stronger position - seen as a 'safe haven' nation, like Hong Kong to China. Kirsty dismissed this view, comparing the UK's position instead to Norway and Switzerland: taking part in the single market, but having no real influence in how that market is managed. This interview can be heard here (c.1.18.00 on the iPlayer clock).

Kirsty Hughes is Senior Associate Fellow, Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford.