Cameron, on the Andrew Marr report, refused to answer the issue of whether the Conservative Party would hold a referendum, if the Lisbon treaty was ratified. Yet he was clear in stating that the government would support the repatriation of powers, signed away by Europe. Read between the lines and the lack of a referendum is followed by unpicking.
Blair will be a godsend in this environment. An unelected President overriding British democracy, will be the cry for the Tories. This will lead to a cycle: repatriation succeeding and no referendum, or negotiations failing and the 'nuclear option' of withdrawal. Imagine if the European Court of Justice vetoes the right of the UK to hold a referendum, calling it a secession? All grist to the mill.
Repatriation
of powers and a referendum are linked policies. That is why Johnson's utterance is an outlier, setting down a marker, rather than an act of division. It may even be planned, to take the sting from the Eurosceptics