Matt Qvortrup, Columnist

Cameron's Bold Move Will Help Avert Brexit

Cameron, like Harold Wilson in the 1970s, is a pragmatist.

January 7, 2016 at 10:03 AM UTC

Matt Qvortrup is a professor of political science and international relations at Coventry University. His most recent book is "Referendums and Ethnic Conflict."

Say what you will.
Photographer: Dean Mouhtaropoulos

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British Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to allow his cabinet colleagues to campaign their consciences on whether to stay in the European Union may look like inviting chaos. But history suggests it will make his task of winning the referendum easier.

On Tuesday, the prime minister told members of the House of Commons that “it will be open to individual ministers to take a different personal position while remaining part of the government.” That decision breaks with the tradition of "collective responsibility" for government officials, the unwritten rule that cabinet members have to support the government's policies, whether or not they agree with them.