The Conservatives could publish a draft bill before the next general election paving the way for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU in the next parliament, a senior Cabinet minister has suggested.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond ruled out introducing a bill for an in/out referendum in the current parliament, saying it would not get through the Commons.
But following the sweeping gains made by UKIP in last week’s council elections, he said they had to do every thing they could to reassure voters that they would honour their commitment to give them a say in the next parliament.
He said that he believed the Conservative general election manifesto would include a clear commitment to legislate for a referendum as soon as they began the next parliament.
And he said that he would strongly favour the idea of publishing a draft bill ahead of the general election to underline their determination to see it through.
Mr Cameron is coming under increased pressure from senior Conservatives to stage a referendum on Europe before the next general election, with calls from Tory right-wingers for a “mandate referendum” as early as next spring.
Meanwhile UKIP leader Nigel Farage made it clear there could be no deal with the Conservatives as long as Mr Cameron was leader.
He suggested UKIP could form a pact with an alternative Conservative leader, although he did not consider it a priority.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Conservative Party was unable to offer a referendum before the General Election because it was in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats but added Prime Minister David Cameron was prepared to look at ways to demonstrate the commitment to holding a referendum.
Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps said they would publish a bill for a referendum but they could not put it to Parliament unless the Lib Dems agreed.