[g jones]

The fall out continues in the press this morning and why EdM was so right yesterday in his private speech to Labour frontbench MP's when he said 'make no mistake, Europe is an issue we are going to have confront. His concerns about migrant labour and depressed wages. That reform would be on Labour's terms. That jumping in to bed with Tories on their terms made Labour look shabby and unprincipled and would come back to haunt us. We said one thing at the election, now we are doing the opposite AND on a backbench motion. That Labour is a pro European Party, that the world has grown smaller.

I raise my concerns with Ed and his team particulalry on the issue he has raised, migrant labour. It is far more effective to be inside the tent looking out and than outside the tent looking in. A foolish hero for day, irrelevant thereafter.

The press are now reporting that some of the extreme rightwing Tory EU rebels were not that bothered about the EU referendum at all but rebelled to give Cameron a bloody nose.

So we now have a picture of the rebels. Some out of the EU because workers have to many rights and some that may be pro-Europe but want a right wing Tory party.

‘Cameron v Conservatives as MPs round on No10’. The scale of the rebellion reflected a factor that appears not to have registered in No 10 until now: the Cameron circle is seen as aloof from, and out of touch with, the vast majority of Conservative MPs.

Tory frontbencher with the ear of ministers: ‘This has been handled as shambolically as it could be. The prime minister has got himself into a decaffeinated November 1989 position.’ And: ‘The advice of Tristan Garel-Jones to Margaret Thatcher is as valid as ever. You've got to start smiling at the f**kers and pretend you like them.’

MPs say that Cameron's distance from the party came to a head over No 10's handling of Monday's vote.

Snr Tory: ‘We could have had a one-line whip and had the debate on Thursday. Colleagues would have taken that excuse to visit their mistresses – sorry, their wives.’

Another Minister: ‘It was difficult. David was absolutely clear that there was very limited room for compromise. His view was that if we didn't face this now it would just come back.’ (ie no credible alternative)

But the minister believes there is a big lesson for No 10: ‘The big thing for Downing Street is how they allowed this to become a lightning rod for widespread discontent with No 10. They appear to have been shaken that their charm in the runup to the vote with some, but by no means all, didn't work.’

Many MPs complain that the prime minister has a habit of surrounding himself with people from similar backgrounds. Normally loyal MP: ‘I am no class warrior but it is fair to say that his circle come from a particular group in society.’

There is a view that, collectively, Cameron's circle has no feeling for bbenchers, most of whom were not educated privately. One minister: ‘There is a feeling that Cameron simply doesn't care. It feels like he thinks: 'I am just going to be prime minister for one term and then I'll hand over to George [Osborne].'‘ MPs believe No 10 has shown little or no understanding of the Tory parliamentary party