Brussels, 25/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Monday 24 October, British MPs rejected (by 483 votes against and 111 for) an amendment proposing a referendum on keeping the United Kingdom in the European Union. Although the vote was of a consultative nature and had little chance of being adopted, it provided an opportunity to show that part of the Conservatives are in defiance of their prime minister, David Cameron. Out of the 111 votes in favour of a referendum, 80 were from the prime minister's own side. One Conservative out of four thus ignored the voting recommendations given by David Cameron, who had called on them to vote again, or be subject to sanctions. The referendum bid set out three possibilities: - staying in the EU, renegotiating the UK's membership of the EU based on trade and cooperation, or purely and simply pulling out of the Union.
On Sunday, during the European Council, the British prime minister had underlined that the time was not right for a referendum, albeit advocated by Foreign Minister William Hague, who is a Eurosceptic.
Nigel Farage, the anti-European MEP, said for his part that there will never be a “right moment” for a referendum. According to a survey published by The Guardian, 70% of British want a referendum on keeping their country in the EU, 40% would vote in favour and 49% would opt for the United Kingdom pulling out of the EU. (CG/transl.jl)