Budget Air Lines

Cameron won't pay on the day. He doesn't say that he won't pay at all. Of course he will.

He signed up to this formula, and these calculations are based on the figures that he and Osborne sent in.

You could hear Cameron banging his fist today. But that is lost on people from the Continent. They cannot even detect an Etonian accent, still less are they intimidated by one.

In any case, does he imagine that other countries' leaders, especially but not exclusively their right-wing leaders, are jumped-up guttersnipes? They are not. They are quite as grand as even he is.

As for Thatcher's rebate, who, exactly, has ever seen a penny of it? She signed the Single European Act. That, and that alone, is what matters.

Never mind an increase. Every Labour MP voted for a real-terms cut in the British contribution to the EU Budget. The number of Conservatives who did so was smaller than the number of Lib Dem MPs.

If there had been a General Election this May, then that cut would now be in place, if necessary by unilateral legislation at Westminster.

Instead, we are waiting for Cameron to hand over £1.7 billion extra once he thinks that no one is still looking. Oh, yes, we will be. Oh, yes, indeed.