Tories publish vote draft Bill

The Conservatives yesterday unveiled the question which will be posed in a referendum on Britain’s future in Europe if David Cameron wins the next general election.

Voters will be asked the yes-or-no question: “Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?”

The wording was revealed in a draft Bill published by the Conservative Party yesterday, amid a continuing row within the coalition Government over the way forward on Europe.

Tory backbenchers have been given free rein by Mr Cameron to vote for an amendment in the House of Commons today, attacking the coalition’s Queen’s Speech for failing to include paving legislation for the referendum in 2017.

Mr Cameron cannot table yesterday’s draft bill as Government legislation because of opposition from Liberal Democrat coalition partners, but hopes that a Conservative MP will adopt it as a Private Member’s Bill.

Mr Cameron yesterday denied he had been panicked into bringing forward a referendum Bill in a bid to quell Tory unrest.

The Prime Minister insisted he was showing “leadership” on Europe and acting in the national interest by demanding better terms for Britain. He admitted he was “frustrated” at being restrained by his Liberal Democrat coalition partners, but said his party would reap the benefits when the “dust settled” and the public saw only the Conservatives were offering a choice on EU membership.

In a round of broadcast interviews during his trip to the US yesterday, Mr Cameron was asked whether he had “panicked”.

“Not at all,” he told Channel 5 News. “If this was a Conservative-only government we would just get on and legislate. We can’t do that because we are in coalition.

“But I have always said that anything we can do to strengthen, add credibility to the pledge... we should do.”

The six-clause Bill states that a referendum will be held on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union before December 31, 2017.

Anyone entitled to vote in a UK parliamentary election will be able to take part, and peers will also be eligible to vote.

Tory chairman Grant Shapps said that the publication of the draft Bill would force other parties to show their hands and tell voters whether they will offer a referendum on EU membership.