Tebbit calls for poll on quitting EU

His appeal is calculated to put pressure on David Cameron.

The former Tory Cabinet Minister is to demand some “Thatcherite courage and determination” from the Conservatives towards Brussels.

And he will risk re-opening divisions over Europe by urging a future Tory government to quit the EU unless Eurocrats stop meddling in British affairs.

His call comes as it was revealed last night that Brussels bureaucrats are imposing 942 new laws on Britain every year. The onslaught – equivalent to nearly three new laws daily – is fuelling the crippling burden on the British economy of regulation to an estimated £150billion a year.

Lord Tebbit will say: “We cannot drift on as we have been. It is not fair either to the British people or the European Union.”

His attack will come at a dinner to mark the 20th anniversary of former Premier Margaret Thatcher’s speech in Bruges warning that Euro-federalism had gone too far.

Baroness Thatcher, 83, is expected to be a guest at the event hosted by the Tory Euro sceptic Bruges Group in her honour.

Lord Tebbit will say: “I hope that the Conservative Party will set out a negotiating brief that the next Conservative government will take to Brussels early in its next term, and that it would within two years of the next election, present to the British people the outcome of its negotiations.

“Then in a referendum the British people would decide whether to accept what was on offer – or simply to leave the union.

“We cannot drift on. It is not fair to the British people or the European Union. We need to show Thatcherite courage and determination to lead the country along that path.”

His speech is likely to irritate the Tory inner circle by threatening the delicate truce over Europe in the party. It goes further than previous Tory calls for a poll on the EU Lisbon treaty.

He will be backed by Czech Republic president Vaclav Klaus, another guest, who will say: “Marching towards an ever-closer union must be reversed.”