Britain could be OUT of EU even sooner: David Cameron reveals plan for early referendum
DAVID Cameron has given his strongest indication yet of his desire to rush forward his planned EU referendum to as early as next year, the Daily Express has learned.
The Prime Minister privately told Tory MPs that he would be “delighted” to trigger the historic national poll on Britain’s ties with Brussels much sooner than his current deadline of by the end of 2017.
“The sooner I can deliver on our commitment of renegotiation and a referendum, the better,” he said.
His remarks, in a letter to a Tory backbenchers, raised hopes last night that the vote on Britain’s membership of the EU could come during 2016 if he returns to Downing Street after the general election on May 7.
It comes after senior Tories including London Mayor Boris Johnson have called for the referendum to be held next year to end the uncertainty over the country’s future.
Tory MP Peter Bone said: “It is really encouraging that the Prime Minister is saying that he would like to hold the referendum sooner.
“There seems to be no reason at all to keep the British people waiting any longer.”
Mr Cameron wrote to Mr Bone and fellow Tory MP Philip Hollobone after they organised a mini-referendum on Britain’s EU membership in North Northamptonshire and delivered the results to Downing Street.
The poll across three Parliamentary constituencies found a massive 80% of voters taking part wanted the UK to quit the EU.
The sooner I can deliver on our commitment of renegotiation and a referendum, the better
More than 14,000 people voted in the poll, which was organised in recognition of the huge support for the Daily Express’s crusade for the UK to withdraw from the 28-nation union.
In letters to both MPs, Mr Cameron thanked them for organising the poll and told them he could “assure you of the Conservative Party’s commitment to holding a referendum on our membership of the European Union by the end of 2017.”
He then went on to point out his desire for holding the poll much sooner if his planned renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s EU membership can be swiftly concluded.
Referring to the 2017 deadline, he said: “If we could do that earlier, I would be delighted.”
He added: “Our job, between now and Polling Day, is to ensure voters are aware that only the Conservatives can and will give them an in-out referendum on Europe.”
Mr Bone, MP for Wellingborough, added: “The reason to have the referendum early is that we don’t want this dragging on; it is not as if there isn’t already a fierce debate in the country about Europe.
“The renegotiation is not something that will take a long time, we will know pretty quickly if it is going to be a success or not.
“So there seems no reason at all to keep the British people waiting any longer.
“When I speak to people on the doorsteps, they want to have a referendum now.
“The Prime Minister is showing he is in touch with the British people. And I’m afraid Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are completely out of touch.”
Kettering MP Mr Hollobone said: “I welcome the new emphasis on having the referendum as soon as practicable rather than the previous emphasis on the backstop position of holding the vote by the end of 2017.
“I think the public needs to be aware that if there is a Conservative government it will hold the referendum as soon as it can.”
He added: “Under a Conservative government, it will be make your mind up time. People will feel that the time has come to just get on with it.”
And Tom Pursglove, Tory general election candidate for Corby and East Northamptonshire and another organiser of the mini-referendum, said: “People want to have their say on Europe as soon as possible.
“I very much support anything that can be done to bring this referendum forward. I am very much encouraged that the Prime Minister is clearly looking at bringing the referendum forward.
“The British people deserve their say on this issue; they have not had an opportunity to speak out on Europe since 1975 and so it is long overdue.”
Earlier this week, Mr Johnson - seen as a leading candidate to be the next Tory leader - called for the referendum to be accelerated.
“Let’s get it done, put it to the people,” he said on Tuesday during a visit to New York.
Express Debate - We Must Leave the EU
Express Debate - We Should Stay in the EU
Downing Street insiders deny there is any specific plan to hasten the referendum time table to ensure that the poll would be held next year.
They point out that Mr Cameron is committed to a “complex” renegotiation of Britain’s membership terms that could involve dealing with 27 other member states and the notoriously slow-moving Brussels bureaucracy.
But they insist that a Conservative government after the general election would seek to hold the EU referendum as soon as possible.
A senior Tory spokesman said: “We have made a clear commitment to a referendum by the end of 2017; no other party either can or will deliver that referendum.”
Luke Stanley, of the cross-party Eurosceptic campaign group Get Britain Out said: “Britain deserves a say on our continued membership of the European Union as soon as possible.
“We all know Cameron’s reform agenda is a joke, and we shouldn’t have to wait around until December 2017 to hear how bad the punchline is.
“Polling consistently shows the Great British Public want to Get Britain Out of the EU as soon as possible and if Cameron thinks waiting an extra year will change this, he is gravely mistaken.”
The Daily Express has led the crusade to quit the EU and delivered a petition to Downing Street backed by 373,000 readers in 2012.
