| Author (Person) | Rigby, Elizabeth, Stacey, Kiran |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 27.10.11 |
| Publication Date | 27/10/2011 |
| Content Type | News |
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United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron’s attempts to assert his authority over his party backfired on the 24 October 2011 when more than 80 Conservative backbenchers defied their leader over membership of the European Union in a blow to the prime minister. Almost half of Mr Cameron’s backbenchers voted for a motion calling for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the European Union despite heavy lobbying from the prime minister. Subsequently, Eurosceptic Conservatives signalled no let-up in their campaign to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with Europe as one rebel MP Andrea Leadsom announced plans for a new backbench group on European reform. The All-Party Group on European Reform would run alongside Ms Leadsom’s work on the 'Fresh Start Project' with fellow Tory MPs George Eustice and Chris Heaton-Harris, which aimed to provide constructive criticism of European institutions and publish a draft white paper on reform by July 2012. |
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| Countries / Regions | United Kingdom |
