The motion was defeated 483 votes to 111, however 79 of Cameron’s own MPs voted for the referendum, despite having been warned that they could lose their jobs for doing so.
The motion could have been taken lightly by Cameron since it came from a backbencher, that is, an MP outside of the Cabinet, who had collected 100,000 signatures on an e-petition. It also would never have passed the House since neither of the other two major parties, the Liberal Democrats nor Labor, would have supported it.
Yet Cameron chose to turn the issue into a stand against the increasingly vocal and impatient euroskeptics in his party by moving the debate back to Monday, so that both he and Foreign Secretary William Hague could participate, and by imposing a strict so-called three-line whip.
This is an unusual measure that is normally reserved for votes of confidence or other very serious issues, and means that any MP who does not vote in accordance with the party line risks losing his or her official position or even being expelled from the party.
There was also drama, as two of the “rebellious” Conservative MPs, Stewart Jackson and Adam Holloway, more or less gave their resignation speeches before the House.
“I’m not now prepared to go back on my words to my constituents. And I’m really staggered that loyal people like me have actually been put in this position. If Britain’s future as an independent country is not a proper matter for a referendum, then I have absolutely no idea what is,” Holloway said.
Nuttall, the author of the motion, said in his speech that he had been approached by hundreds of people encouraging him to vote for the motion, but that the Party whips had told him not to.
There was even time for a parallel debate on the Internet, with some seriously low blows; former Labor MP John Prescott made fun on twitter of the way Nuttall, spoke while the latter was giving his address. The Conservatives’ press HQ then went on to criticize Prescott on twitter and he withdrew his comment.
Euroskepticism High
Ironically, Cameron has previously been in favor of a referendum on the EU, and Foreign Secretary William Hague was once one of the Party’s most outspoken euroskeptics. Now, however, they argue that this is entirely the wrong time to raise the issue, amid the ongoing eurozone crisis.
The crisis, however, is also one of the reasons why EU skepticism is currently high in the U.K. Britain is not part of the euro and many British resent having to help pay for the current meltdown.
A poll conducted by The Guardian and ICM Reasearch before the debate showed that 49 percent want Britain to leave the EU while only 40 percent want to remain. Seventy percent were in favor of a referendum, with just 23 percent directly opposed.
The issue of Europe has long been a fissure running through the Conservative Party that periodically ruptures with often dramatic impact on its coherence both in office and opposition. John Major, the last Conservative prime minister, struggled to keep Tory rebels in check over the vote on the European Maastricht Treaty in 1993.
Neither of the three major parties have EU secession as a part of their manifesto. However, the Conservative Party does have on its manifesto that they will repatriate “key powers over legal rights, criminal justice, and social and employment legislation” from the EU, but this was watered down to “examine the balance of the EU’s existing competences” after the Conservatives were forced to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.
“I share the yearning for fundamental reform, and I am determined to deliver it,” said Cameron in his speech. “To those who are supporting today’s motion but don’t actually want to leave the EU, I say to you this: I respect your views. We disagree not about ends, but about means.”
Happiest was perhaps the small and very euroskeptic U.K. Independence Party, whose leader Nigel Farrage called 111 votes “a healthy figure that should send a clear message to David Cameron and the other Party leaders.”
Labor Party and opposition leader Ed Milliband naturally took the time to attack the current government.
“Tonight confirmed that the Conservatives are more interested in fighting each other than fighting for Britain in Europe,” he said.
