Nigel Farage appears utterly delighted with the EU commission's Christmas present to him .... dropping a £1.7bn bill on the UK.
BBC link
David Cameron, of course, is not so delighted, this appearing a few weeks before a highly contentious by-election (Rochester and Stroud) after ex-Tory MP Mark Reckless defected to UKIP and resigned his seat, forcing a by-election. And a by-election, by the way, Farage is now saying he is "confident" they will win.
The worry, for Cameron, is that if UKIP do win, it may trigger either more defections, or possibly even a leadership challenge (though I find that latter very unlikely 7 months before a general election).
But whatever happens, it's a gift for Farage, with no downside. And it'll be the gift that keeps on giving. Cameron can't win this one. If he pays, he hands UKIP a wonderful stick to beat him with, and if he refuses to pay, the on-going dispute with the EU and the resultant news coverage will hand Farage a wonderful anti-EU stick to beat him with.
Happy Christmas, Nigel.