David Cameron rules out second Brexit referendum

David Cameron has ruled out a second vote on Britain's EU membership if next month's referendum produces a close result, describing it as "a once in a lifetime opportunity".

The prime minister was speaking after Ukip leader Nigel Farage said Eurosceptic Conservatives might not accept a narrow vote to remain in the EU, an argument echoed by other Leave campaigners.

“I’m absolutely clear, a referendum is a referendum. It is a once in a generation, once in a lifetime opportunity and the result determines the outcome. If we vote to stay, we stay, and that’s it,” Mr Cameron told an audience at the Mansion House in London.

“If we vote to leave, we vote to leave, that’s it. You can’t have neverendums, you have referendums”

Some Leave campaigners have suggested in the past that a vote to leave the EU may not be final and that any new relationship with the EU could be put to a second referendum.

Yesterday, however, Mr Farage said a vote to remain in the EU could be viewed as illegitimate because of what he described as a "rigged" campaign.

Feeling isolated

Former London mayor

Boris Johnson

agreed on Tuesday that the referendum might not settle the European question because deeper integration in the rest of the EU could leave Britain feeling more isolated within the union in future.

Leave campaigners have raised the possibility of a second referendum as a new poll suggests that the Remain campaign is pulling ahead.

An ORB poll for the Daily Telegraph puts Remain at 51 per cent, up four points since last month, and Leave at 45 per cent, down three points.

The Remain side is winning the argument on national security and the economy and 60 per cent of voters think voting to leave is a risk, compared to 22 per cent who say the same about a Remain vote.

Immigration remains the strongest issue for the leave campaign and their greatest advantage is that more of their supporters say they will definitely vote – 62 per cent to the Remain side’s 53 per cent.

Outrage

Mr Farage provoked outrage when he claimed Tony Blair’s

Labour

government encouraged increased immigration in an effort to “rub our noses in diversity”.

And former Conservative deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine said he would be very surprised if Mr Johnson ever became prime minister in the light of his "preposterous, obscene" remarks during the campaign.

“When he starts invoking the memories of Hitler, that has crossed the bounds of domestic debate. It was about the most manic nationalist aggressive destruction on a scale unprecedented in human history. It was about the persecution of the Jews. A calculated decision to persecute the Jews on a massive scale – that was what he wanted to do. He believed in it.

“The idea that a serious British politician can in any way invoke that memory, I find – frankly, I had better contain my language,” Lord Heseltine told the BBC.