Cameron To Publish In/Out EU Referendum Bill

David Cameron's dramatic decision to publish a draft Bill which would guarantee an in-out EU referendum appears to have failed to quell backbench rebellion.

Tory MPs insisted they would press ahead with plans to vote against the Government's Queen's Speech despite the Prime Minister's bid to ease the growing row.

The party will publish draft legislation later on Tuesday, paving the way for a referendum by 2017 on Britain's membership of the EU.

It is an attempt to show Mr Cameron is committed to holding a referendum, following his pledge in a key speech about Europe in January this year.

The Prime Minister cannot put the Bill forward as Government legislation because of Lib Dem opposition but it is hoped a backbench MP could take it on as a Private Member's Bill.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to Sky News, denied the move was a knee-jerk reaction sparked by the growing dissent in Tory ranks.

"We had a range of options. We would have done this or some other similar option because we do want to reinforce our commitment," he said.

"The Prime Minister said before the local elections, before the UKIP local election results, that we were looking for ways of doing that and open to ways of doing that."

He insisted the Tories were "solidly committed and very united" behind having a referendum, and claimed the draft Bill would force Labour and the Lib Dems to "show their hand".

Pressed on whether the move was an admission of a failure of trust, he replied: "No, I think what we are doing here is strengthening our commitment."

Party chairman Grant Shapps later insisted the start of the new Parliamentary session was the right time to introduce it, and blamed the Lib Dems for its absence from the Queen's Speech.

"I would love to have seen it in the Queen's Speech - the problem we have got is that we are in a coalition," he told Sky's Boulton & Co programme.

Mr Cameron has found his trip to the US dogged by fresh Tory rows over Europe after MPs tabled an amendment criticising the Queen's Speech for not including an EU referendum bill.

Tabled by John Baron and Peter Bone and set to be put to a divisive vote in the Commons on Wednesday, it has now been signed by 78 MPs.

Mr Baron, speaking on Tuesday, said No10's move to table a draft Bill was a "step in the right direction" but only a "second-best offer" and that he would keep pressing the amendment.

"I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in many respects," he told the BBC. "The Prime Minister should seize the moment presented by our amendment.

"He can legitimately say to the Liberals that the situation is not of his making and therefore not within the confines of the Coalition Agreement."

He added: "This is not a matter of trust between David Cameron and the Conservative Party - it's a matter of trust between politicians and the electorate."

Mr Baron added that trying to push through the law other than by bringing a Government Bill was a "ploy that could well fail".

The better option, he argued, was for the Government to have the "courage" to support the amendment which would force Labour and the Lib Dems to take their own positions.

"If we succeed in that amendment then the Government could introduce a Bill through normal channels and that would have a much better chance of succeeding," he said.

The 78 signatories to the rebel amendment include 67 Tories, six members of the Democratic Unionist Party and five from Labour, including former ministers Frank Field and Kate Hoey.

Any Tories who secure a prime spot near the top of Thursday's ballot will face pressure from eurosceptic colleagues to take up the referendum bill.

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said the announcement about the draft Bill was "undignified" and that there had been "some chaos in Number 10 this week".

"The amendment has forced the Prime Minister's hand. It's a good thing that the draft Bill is now on the table," he said.

A senior Lib Dem source said an EU referendum law had not been discussed as part of coalition negotiations on the Queen's Speech.

The source said: "The Conservatives are free to bang on about Europe as much as they like within their own party.

"Rather than spend time debating an internal Tory trauma on an issue where the Government has a clear position, the Liberal Democrats will focus on jobs and growth."

The source also pointed out that the Government had already passed a law to guarantee a referendum the next time there was a significant transfer of power to Brussels.

"When we were discussing that legislation, we didn't hear a peep out of the Conservatives about all this. Neither did we in discussions on the Queen's Speech. We're a bit nonplussed that the Conservatives keep moving the goalposts," the source said.

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the publication of the draft Bill showed Mr Cameron had lost control of his party.

He said: "This seems to be just the latest panicked response from the Prime Minister who is now following, rather than leading his backbenchers.

"David Cameron is a Prime Minister who has both lost control of the agenda and lost control of his party."

Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the move as "an act of sheer desperation" and "nothing more than gesture politics".

But Sky News Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones, who is with Mr Cameron in the US, said: "Win or lose, David Cameron will be able to say to the British public 'Well I gave it a shot and, no ifs, no buts, I will be pressing ahead with the referendum if I am elected Prime Minister in 2015'."

Ken Clarke, one of the most pro-European Tories, told Sky News that the party must "move on" and warned that leaving the EU would be a "catastrophe" and "very, very reckless".