A call for a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union before the next general election reflected the opinion of most British people, Tory Eurosceptic Adam Afriyie has said.
Mr Afriyie insisted he was right to ignore warnings from the Tory leadership and press ahead with an attempt to bring forward the date of an in/out referendum from 2017 to next year.
But the Conservative MP for Windsor saw his proposed change to the European Union (Referendum) Bill heavily defeated in the Commons by 249 votes to 15, majority 234. Of those MPs who voted in favour of an early poll, 14 were Tory and one was Labour.
Senior Tory figures were unhappy about Mr Afriyie’s decision to put his amendment to the vote because it apparently showed there was still discontent within the ranks of the party on the UK’s membership of the EU.
And a number of Tory Eurosceptic MPs also ducked supporting the backbencher’s demand for an early referendum, saying Prime Minister David Cameron should be given time to repatriate powers from Brussels.
James Wharton, the Conservative MP for Stockton South who is bringing forward the legislation as a Private Member’s Bill, described Mr Afriyie’s amendment as a “waste of time”.