David Cameron has pledged that he will not stand as prime minister after the next election unless he can secure a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU in 2017.
Mr Cameron said he could "absolutely" give a cast-iron guarantee that the vote would go ahead in 2017 if he returned to Downing Street and that he would stand down if he could not promise a referendum in a future coalition.
"I’ve said very clearly that whatever the outcome of the next election, and of course I want an overall majority, and I’m hoping and believing I can win an overall majority, but people should be in no doubt I will not become prime minister unless I can guarantee that we will hold that referendum", he said.
Setting out his position ahead of the European Parliament elections later this month, Mr Cameron said he was "confident" he could renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Brussels. Mr Cameron also gave details of his priorities for EU reform, telling the BBC that the "most important" change he wanted to pursue was withdrawing Britain from a clause that binds it to ever closer union.
"I think it is essential that... the treaties make clear that [that clause] doesn’t apply to Britain", the prime minister said. "Some of the things I’m calling for will require treaty change ... why this is so important is that there is a sense in this country, which I understand and in many ways share, that we wanted to be part of a single market, where nation states co-operate; we did not want to be part of a country called Europe – our country is United Kingdom."
However, the prime minister did pull back from opposing free movement within the EU – an issue which has provoked significant concern among Conservative Eurosceptics. He said that rather than withdrawing from this right, the UK would seek to return free movement to its core purpose.
© Financial Times
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