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| David Cameron's draft EU referendum bill fails to quell Tory MPs' discontent | David Cameron's draft EU referendum bill fails to quell Tory MPs' discontent |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron has managed to siphon off only a small number of his Tory euro-sceptic rebels by promising to publish a Conservative draft bill on an in-out referendum, but the vote on Wednesday regretting the absence of a bill in the Queen's speech will go ahead. | |
| Prominent backbenchers Douglas Carswell, Michael Fabricant and Zac Goldsmith swung behind the prime minister's surprise initiative saying the task now was to find a Tory MP to back the bill after Thursday private member's ballot and then to challenge Ed Miliband to support it at a second reading. | |
| Carswell said: "The chance to engineer a vote now is ours for the making." | |
| But the leader of the revolt, John Baron, said he was not going to withdraw his planned amendment regretting the contents of the Queen's speech. | |
| Influential figures around Ed Miliband are urging him to exploit the chance to embarrass Cameron by backing a referendum, but Tuesday's shadow cabinet meeting was expected to endorse the policy of opposing the amendment. | |
| Miliband is determined to be seen to be acting in the national interest on Europe. | |
| The prime minister's spokesman said ministers would be expected to abstain, since although Conservative policy is to back a draft bill, government policy does not support the measure. He said the amendment was Conservative policy. | |
| He said the prime minister was happy that it could be seen he was leading the calls for a referendum, and denied that his actions merely demonstrated his weakness, or that his weakness reminded voters of John Major's battles with his Eurosceptics. | |
| In a sign of the contorted position created by coalition politics, the prime minister's spokesman said the amendment was "clearly is in line with Conservative party policy" and it would be difficult for Tory members of the government to vote against it. "Because at present it is not government policy, because we are in a coalition government, it would put ministers in a difficult position if they were asked to vote against the government's own Queen's speech or to vote against Conservative party policy. Hence the ability to abstain." | |
| The amendment, signed by as many as 80 Tory MPs, regretting the absence of a referendum bill in the Queen's speech is due to be debated on Wednesday. In response, Cameron, seeking to quell accusations of weakness and a surge in support for Ukip, is to publish his own draft bill introducing an in/out referendum on Tuesday. | |
| The prime minister had previously pledged to hold a referendum in 2017 but the lack of a commitment in the legislative agenda, in the face of Lib Dem opposition, prompted unrest among backbench Tory MPs, witnessing a growing threat from Ukip. | The prime minister had previously pledged to hold a referendum in 2017 but the lack of a commitment in the legislative agenda, in the face of Lib Dem opposition, prompted unrest among backbench Tory MPs, witnessing a growing threat from Ukip. |
| The foreign secretary, William Hague, defended the prime minister's move. He said Cameron's draft bill, which is likely to be tabled by a backbencher as a private member's bill, would "entrench" the party's commitment to holding a vote in 2017 and force the other parties "to decide definitively their position". | |
| "Of course that is a much more difficult route than [government] legislation but it means that there … can be a debate in the House of Commons on our policy, it means there can be a vote," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "What we are doing is strengthening our commitment [to a referendum] … when you can do something to make clearer, to entrench a commitment, you should do that." | "Of course that is a much more difficult route than [government] legislation but it means that there … can be a debate in the House of Commons on our policy, it means there can be a vote," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "What we are doing is strengthening our commitment [to a referendum] … when you can do something to make clearer, to entrench a commitment, you should do that." |
| Hague emphasised that Cameron was forced to go down the route of tabling his own draft bill because the Conservatives' coalition partners are opposed to holding a referendum, making it impossible to introduce a proper government parliamentary bill. | Hague emphasised that Cameron was forced to go down the route of tabling his own draft bill because the Conservatives' coalition partners are opposed to holding a referendum, making it impossible to introduce a proper government parliamentary bill. |
| He denied that the bill was an attempt to alter the outcome of the vote on the backbench amendment, insisting he was "relaxed" about Wednesday's debate. "It is understandable that Conservative MPs are frustrated that we can not put legislation forward as a government," he said. | |
| The cabinet minister Ken Clarke, one of the most pro-European Tories, said the party should move on from the issue as a result of Cameron's move and warned that leaving the EU would be a catastrophe. | The cabinet minister Ken Clarke, one of the most pro-European Tories, said the party should move on from the issue as a result of Cameron's move and warned that leaving the EU would be a catastrophe. |
| He told Sky News: "David Cameron has already committed the Conservative party to holding a referendum on Europe in the next parliament; this is obviously an attempt to underline that commitment to a referendum if he gets the chance. | He told Sky News: "David Cameron has already committed the Conservative party to holding a referendum on Europe in the next parliament; this is obviously an attempt to underline that commitment to a referendum if he gets the chance. |
| "I think we should move on now. The important thing is to make sure we get the right result from any referendum which is held to avoid the catastrophe for the country's economy and our political standing in the world if we were to be so very, very reckless as to leave the European Union." | "I think we should move on now. The important thing is to make sure we get the right result from any referendum which is held to avoid the catastrophe for the country's economy and our political standing in the world if we were to be so very, very reckless as to leave the European Union." |
| But Bernard Jenkin, another senior Tory backbencher, said the only way to draw a line under the issue was a government bill to hold a EU referendum in this parliament. | |
| John Redwood, told BBC News that Cameron's decision to published a draft EU bill did not go far enough. Redwood said that he did not doubt Cameron when he said he would hold a referendum in 2017, but he did not want to wait that long. | |
| "We, the Conservative party, voted en masse against Nice and Amsterdam and Lisbon, three massively centralising treaties that took powers away from our country. We never agreed to them. We want them sorted out. We do not think Britain can be governed properly under them. And it is urgent. It can't wait until 2017." | "We, the Conservative party, voted en masse against Nice and Amsterdam and Lisbon, three massively centralising treaties that took powers away from our country. We never agreed to them. We want them sorted out. We do not think Britain can be governed properly under them. And it is urgent. It can't wait until 2017." |