BRITISH PRIME minister David Cameron faces a significant challenge to his authority on Monday when up to 80 Conservative MPs are set to defy him by backing a House of Commons vote for a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union.
The debate, which threatens to reopen old Conservative Party wounds, was demanded by 100,000 people who signed a petition calling for one, and it was approved by the backbenchcontrolled Commons administration committee last week.
So far, nearly 70 MPs have signed the motion, while an even greater number, including a number of parliamentary private secretaries – the first promotional rank for aspiring MPs – are ready to defy Mr Cameron’s decision to impose a three-line whip.
The danger posed by the debate is illustrated by the fact Mr Cameron, who plans to be in Australia for much of next week, has ensured the debate happens on Monday, not on Thursday as originally scheduled, so he and foreign secretary William Hague can attend.
The sensitivity of the issue is further highlighted by Mr Cameron’s meeting with the parliamentary private secretaries on Monday afternoon before the debate begins. The ministerial aides will have to resign if they refuse to obey the whip.
Last night, some senior ministers cautioned Mr Cameron, urging him to find compromise language that would allow Conservative MPs to express their Eurosceptic tendencies without threatening the coalition. The Liberal Democrats will not accept a referendum call.
One of the leading new MPs in the Conservative ranks, George Eustice, who once acted as press spokesman for Mr Cameron before winning a seat, complained about the prime minister’s handling of the controversy.
“The truth is, most frontbenchers agree with the backbenchers – they are being put in an incredibly difficult position by the government. I think the government has handled it very, very badly and have escalated this into a conflict that was entirely unnecessary,” he said.
On Thursday, Mr Eustice put down a compromise motion urging the government to examine the powers that could be brought back from Brussels to Westminster, to negotiate their return, and then to follow with a referendum.
Despite his criticism of Mr Cameron, Mr Eustice’s action is seen by some more Eurosceptic Conservative MPs as a “get-out” clause for wavering MPs, since they could support it and claim that they had held to their anti-EU beliefs without provoking retaliation from No 10.
However, quarters close to Mr Cameron reject charges he has foolishly raised the stakes by making it clear rebels will be punished, saying the idea Eurosceptic MPs could have been told quietly to stay away from the vote was “total rubbish”.
Mr Cameron has promised to hold a referendum to ratify a treaty that ceded more powers to Brussels, but he desperately wants to avoid a new war about the EU within the Conservatives.