As Tory MPs move apart for the '22 elections, Labour's leaders draw closer over an EU referendum

By Paul Goodman
^{Follow Paul on Twitter}

Five straws in the wind:

• Ed Balls's joint Guardian article on Sunday with Peter Mandelson about Europe policy, stressing an active European Central Bank, banking recapitalisation, more infrastucture spending and greater fiscal union.  That these one-time old enemies teamed up in this way is significant.

• Lord Mandelson's earlier though recent support in principle for an EU-related referendum.

• Balls's own support this week for such a referendum, expressed in almost identical terms.

• Tony Blair's wish to re-engage with British politics.

• The opportunities that the forthcoming Shadow Cabinet reshuffle presents to heal relations between Labour's differents wings (if Ed Miliband doesn't mess it up).

For all the divisions of the Blair/Brown years and the Miliband/Miliband leadership election, Labour is the natural party of the British establishment: that's to say, of the public sector elites - the Universities, the arts, the top layer of the legal profession (or at least of its human rights wing) - and the state broadcaster, plus the bigger churches (or much of their leadership).

No wonder it is showing signs of a very establishment instinct for unity.  The paralysing effect of that leadership election - in which Labour members and MPs voted for the other Miliband - are beginning to fade.  As I pointed out recently, Mr Miliband has clearly clocked that David Cameron is badly exposed on Europe, and is being pushed hard to exploit this weakness.