David Cameron spent Friday night at his country residence of Chequers in Buckinghamshire, after putting Britain on an isolated footing in the European Union at the latest summit to try to save the single currency. The Prime Minister was entertaining around 30 Eurosceptic Tory MPs who are delighted at Britain's refusal to allow a new EU-wide treaty to stabilise the Euro.
Eurosceptic Tory MP Andrew Rossindell, who was at Chequers, told the BBC that the PM was "very relaxed" about his decision to block an EU-wide treaty on financial rules. "We had a wonderful evening," Rossindell told the BBC upon leaving the PM's country residence.
But as the hangovers fade ministers and MPs are waking up to a new political reality which could lead to Britain taking an increasingly remote stance in European affairs. In the short term there is the prospect of every other EU member state signing up to the plan proposed by Germany to pass a new treaty on moving towards economic integration in Europe.
Senior Lib Dems are believed to be dismayed at the PM's brinkmanship in Europe, with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg firing a warning shot to eurosceptic Tories "rubbing their hands with glee", urging them to be "careful what you wish for".
Some veteran Tories are also unhappy about Britain's position on reforming Europe's financial system. Former Tory Deputy Prime Minister in the 1990s, Lord Heseltine, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that the prime minister had been disingenuous in claiming his veto of the EU treaty had been designed to protect the City of London.
"In saying he wanted to protect the interest of the City, he was agreeing there were interests to protect. You can't protect the interest of the city by floating off into the middle of the Atlantic," he said.
"[Cameron] can't safeguard the City because it's markets that will determine how Britain features, is involved in Europe. The Europeans could theoretically create rules for the Eurozone that could make it difficult to trade outside it. Over a period, you're talking about ten years, it's a very real threat."
Saturday's newspapers in Britain agree that the UK now faces being isolated from the EU agenda - with most believing that to be a good thing. The Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail paint the PM as a champion of British sovereignty, defending the interests of Britain and the City of London.
But The Guardian, which accuses the PM of "cutting Britain adrift" from Europe, believes all Cameron has done is appease backbench Tory MPs.
"Mr Cameron's veto was an act of domestic politics, not an act of international statesmanship. It was a pseudo-Churchillian, pseudo-Thatcherite gesture to appease his anti-European backbenchers," says the paper in its editorial.
The Financial Times describes Cameron's approach as "disastrous politics", claiming the PM has isolated Britain's role in Europe, without getting much in return.
Baron Roger Liddle, chair of the Policy Network and Tony Blair's former adviser on Europe, told the Huffington Post UK on Friday that Cameron's gambit was "An act of self isolation, which was taken for purely political reasons to do with pressure inside the Conservative Party. I don't think it's anything to do with British interests whatsoever. I think that the argument about defending British interests is extremely weak."
This could mark "the beginning of the end for Britain in Europe," he added.
In a blog on HuffPost UK, the PM was supported by Sir Christopher Meyer, former UK ambassador to Germany. He doesn't believe the PM will be entirely isolated among European leaders.
He writes: "There are nine other EU countries who are not members of the Eurozone. They are Cameron's natural allies, if British diplomacy can be clever enough to enlist them."
Sir Christopher also points out that both Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel face elections in the coming months which could prove disastrous for both leaders.
"Sarkozy faces political oblivion in elections next year, Merkel in 2013. Cameron does not have to go to the country until 2015. Nor should Cameron be too discomforted by the charge that he is trying to exploit a desperate crisis in the EU by pursuing narrow nationalist ends. France and Germany are doing exactly the same," He writes.
However, the nine other "outs" did not show any signs of backing Cameron's pull-out on Friday. Sweden, the Czech Republic and Hungary were all rumoured to have objected during overnight talks, but by morning, all of them had backed the Franco-German plan, leaving Cameron out on a limb.
On Monday the PM will address the House of Commons on the outcome of the European summit, which will prove an interesting gauge of how Lib Dem members of the coalition feel about Britain's new isolated position within the EU.