David Oops! Cameron rocked by record rebellion as Europe splits Tories again

[malaise]

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 voted in favour of 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 to vote 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.

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.
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I'm lovin' it!

[Pab Sungenis]

1. I think Clegg is going to pull out out of the Coalition

at the next budget. Finally bring down this monster he helped create.

[mwooldri]

2. Here's dreaming... but I don't think Cleggo's going to do this. nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. Doubtful.

Clegg's succeeded in making his party unelectable for a generation, and staying on in the coalition as long as possible is the last chance he'll ever have at being in power, unless he crosses the aisle to the Tories. Going into coalition with the Tories in the first place alienated a significant number of left-leaning Lib Dem voters who only voted Lib Dem in the first place because of disgust with Labour over Iraq and Blair's neo-Thatcherism; most of those people wouldn't have voted Lib Dem if they'd thought it'd get them a Tory government. The Lib Dems were on, I think, 25? 27? percent support in polls just before the general election in May of last year; that's currently 9%.