David Cameron was warned that he faces four years of trench warfare with disgruntled backbenchers after he suffered the largest postwar rebellion on Europe as 81 Conservative MPs supported a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
With a new opinion poll showing overwhelming support for a referendum, normally loyal backbenchers told Downing Street that Cameron will face further rebellions unless he takes a tough stance in EU treaty negotiations.
The warnings were issued as nearly half of Cameron's backbenchers defied a three-line whip and voted in favour of a motion calling for a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU on current terms, whether to leave or whether to renegotiate Britain's membership.
A total of 79 Tory MPs voted in favour of an EU referendum while a further two Tory MPs were tellers for the rebels, bringing the total to 81. A further 15 Tory MPs abstained, meaning that Cameron failed to convince more than half his backbenchers to support the government.
The prime minister ordered the sacking of one parliamentary private secretary, Stewart Jackson, after he spoke against the government. Adam Holloway, PPS to the Europe minister David Lidington, stood down after he too announced that he would vote in favour of the referendum.
Jackson, who was PPS to the Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson, accused the government of a "catastrophic mismanagement" after imposing a three-line whip on a motion that was drawn from a petition signed by more than 100,000 members of the public.
Sir George Young, the leader of the Commons, said it was time to move on after the referendum motion was defeated overwhelmingly by 483 votes to 111, majority 372. But Tory rebels and loyalists dismissed Young's comments as they pointed out that Cameron only secured a strong victory because Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, imposed a three-line whip on his MPs. There were 19 Labour rebels and one Liberal Democrat rebel.
One loyal Tory, who reluctantly supported the government, warned that Cameron now faces a lengthy battle with his backbenches as the EU embarks on negotiations to reform the governance arrangements of the EU. The senior backbencher said: "This is not going to go away."
The MP said that backbenchers would test the prime minister on his claim in the Commons that forthcoming treaty negotiations would give Britain an opportunity to further its national interest. "Let's just see if the prime minister can deliver this great opportunity for Britain. If he can't, there will be another motion on Europe that will be trouble for him."
David Davis, who faced Cameron in the final round in the 2005 Tory leadership contest, made clear the prime minister would have to give ground on Europe when he defended his decision to vote in favour of a referendum. The former shadow home secretary said: "We have been told this is the wrong time. This is the time when all the claims of Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel are to centralise the EU even more to create a fiscal union. It will have an impact on Britain, as the prime minister has said. So this is absolutely the time to think about this. We should be protecting ourselves from the consequences of the eurozone."
Downing Street attempted to reach out to the rebels by saying that it respected those who voted in favour of the referendum. A spokesman said: "The House of Commons has clearly voted against this motion. We understand that many people who voted for it felt very strongly - and we respect that."
But Tories said that Cameron had sanctioned an aggressive operation to persuade wavering MPs to support the government. One MP said: "Dave kept the rebellion under check by launching an industrial scale operation. The message was clear: don't darken my door if you vote against me." One MP is said to have sworn at George Osborne when he tried to persuade her not to rebel.
Davis indicated that there will be an inquest on how Downing Street allowed a petition, designed by No 10 to underpin the Big Society, to turn into such a damaging rebellion. Davis said: "This was not the invention of some faction of the Conservative party. This was asked for by 100,000 members of the public."
The prime minister met MPs through the day to try to persuade them to vote against an EU referendum.
Holloway told MPs the only "honest course of action" for him was to resign.
With a theatrical flourish, the former television journalist rose in the Commons to say: "I'm not now prepared to go back on my words to my constituents and I'm really staggered that loyal people like me have actually been put in this position. If Britain's future as an independent country is not a proper matter for a referendum, then I have absolutely no idea what is."
Holloway, who was quickly followed by Stewart Jackson, PPS to the Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson, emboldened wavering Tory MPs. It is understood that Bob Stewart, a former colonel who was elected MP for Beckenham last year, rebuffed an offer to meet the prime minister.
Jackson told MPs: "The House of Commons should be allowed a free vote and an unfettered debate on this issue. The government have no mandate to whip the vote, as they have done this evening, because no one has a mandate since all parties effectively reneged on the Lisbon treaty prior to the last general election. "As a former whip I believe this has been a catastrophic mismanagement in terms of my party. We should have been able to show we are mature … Instead we have the heavy-handed whipping we have seen tonight."
MPs pressed ahead with their rebellion despite warnings from the whips that they would harm their careers if they defied a three-line whip. "Whether they like it or not this will hinder things for them," one government source said of the rebels.Cameron tried to appease Eurosceptics by making clear he was determined to press ahead with repatriating social and employment laws from Brussels. The Tories were forced to abandon their election pledge on this under pressure from the Lib Dems in the coalition negotiations.
The prime minister said: "I remain firmly committed to … bringing back more powers from Brussels."
It is understood Downing Street is planning to include a commitment to repatriate these powers in the Conservative manifesto for the next election.
No 10 says Britain will push British interests in negotiations over two stages. In the first place there will be limited EU treaty change over the next year to bring into EU law tougher rules overseeing greater fiscal co-ordination among the 17 members of the eurozone. Germany is insisting on a treaty change in this area. The prime minister indicated he was prepared to use Britain's veto in these negotiations to protect Britain's position in the single market and the special position of the City of London.
But Tory backbenchers warned of another rebellion if the PM failed to use these negotiations to repatriate social and employment laws. No 10 believes this can only happen in full-scale treaty renegotiations. But Downing Street sees no sign of this in the foreseeable future.
"Fundamental questions are being asked about the future of the Eurozone and therefore the shape of the EU itself," he said. "Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent.
"We should focus on how to make the most of this, not pursue a parliamentary process for a multiple choice referendum ... every country can wield a veto until its needs are met."
In these negotiations Britain will demand safeguards to protect Britain's position in the single market and guarantees to ensure that the position of the City of London is not jeopardised in a beefed up eurozone. Britain will also want assurances that the 17 eurozone members will not "caucus" – agreeing a policy and then bouncing other members of the EU to sign up. Cameron attempted to underline his Eurosceptic credentials by casting himself in the mould of Thatcher. Praising José Manuel Barroso, the European commission's president for making a strong presentation on jobs at Sunday's EU summit, the prime minister said: "If we want to get Europe's economies moving, to succeed in a competitive world, then these are the steps that are absolutely necessary.
"These are arguments which Margaret Thatcher made to drive through the single market in the first place; and which every prime minister since has tried to push. I am no exception."
The PM said Eurosceptics had chosen the wrong time to demand a referendum. "It's not the right time, at this moment of economic crisis, to launch legislation that includes an in-out referendum. When your neighbour's house is on fire, your first impulse should be to help him put out the flames, not least to stop the flames reaching your own house. This is not the time to argue about walking away. Not just for their sakes, but for ours. Legislating now for a referendum, including on whether Britain should leave the EU, could cause great uncertainty and could actually damage our prospects of growth."
The rebellion came as a Guardian/ICM poll showed some 70% of voters want a vote on Britain's EU membership. Forty-nine per cent of voters said they would use the referendum to leave the EU, as against 40% who prefer to stay in.
