Cameron confronts rebels with warning over Europe

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Joe Murphy @JoeMurphyLondon|Craig Woodhouse

10 April 2012

David Cameron today confronted the mass Tory rebellion on an EU referendum with a warning that it was a distraction from tackling the "burning building" of Europe's economy.

The Prime Minister used an article in the Standard to make his final, strongly-worded appeal to wavering Tory MPs as they voted on a rebel call for a referendum on Britain's membership.

"If you're putting out the flames on a burning building you need to focus on the job, rather than give up and start a whole new project," he said. "You deal with the emergency at hand. That's what we need to do today."

Mr Cameron warned against acting "rashly and prematurely," hinting that the unfolding crisis in the euro zone could lead to a chance to negotiate the return of power lost long ago to Brussels. "I believe that the opportunity to do that is coming," he said.

Around 70 Conservative MPs were expcted to break a three-line whip, the strongest form of discipline, in the most significant Tory revolt on Europe since Maastricht two decades ago.

At least one junior ministerial aide, Stewart Jackson, has vowed to break ranks even if sacked and two unnamed ministers were rumoured to be considering their positions.

Evening Standard has established that the Prime Minister personally phoned several MPs over the weekend to ask them to be loyal, despite having to travel to the EU summit. At least one of those decided to rebel anyway.

Mr Cameron continued to battle for every vote when he called the Government's parliamentary private secretaries to a meeting at No10 to make his case. Party whips seemed confident there would be few sackings.

There were signs of a major row building in the Coalition over Mr Cameron's hint that he could use the crisis to negotiate the repatriation of powers from Brussels, such as employment and social laws.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said it was "far too early to speculate" about what the Government's position would be in the event of any moves to change EU treaties.

Downing Street sources made clear that Mr Cameron would not use an emergency treaty change, which is currently being mooted by German leader Angela Merkel, to open negotiations but said a future big treaty deal could create an opportunity.

As tonight's vote loomed, Mark Pritchard, the Secretary of the 1922 Committee which represents backbenchers, said "several more" rebels were emerging. "This will be a defining moment for many MPs who have for years called themselves Eurosceptic," he said.

Evening Standard spoke to more than 20 ministerial aides this morning and found only Mr Jackson saying they would rebel.

Several were strongly Eurosceptic but felt it was the "wrong time" for a referendum. Some were angry with rebels for putting them on the spot. One complained: "It makes me look like a Europhile, which I'm not at all."

Others were angry with Mr Cameron, Tory MP Mark Field said the whipping was "the most monumental failure of Conservative party management."

William Hague said the referendum now was the "wrong question at the wrong time," adding: "it would create additional economic uncertainty in this country at a difficult economic time."

But rebel Bernard Jenkin said: "This is basically about democracy. David Cameron is not just taking on the Conservative Party, he's taking on the whole of public opinion."

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