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On 10th January, the House of Lords discussed the draft bill drawn up by a Conservative MP and defended by Conservative Lord Dobbs, a member of British Prime Minister David Cameron's party, on the organisation of a referendum on the EU in 2017. Although the draft bill was passed in the opening session of debate, it is facing the resolute opposition of Labour which intends to make amendments in order to extend the procedure. If the draft is not adopted by the House of Lords before the end of the working session, Prime Minister Cameron will have to put it forward in the next session.
The EU (Referendum) Bill is a private member's bill – a type of public bill (that affects the public), which is introduced by an individual member rather than the government. Private members' bills must go through the same set of procedures as other public bills.
The bill was first introduced in the House of Commons. More than 65 members contributed to the debate.
Lords Constitution Committee report: EU (Referendum) Bill
A recent YouGov poll found that 33% would vote to remain, 43% to leave. If membership were to be renegotiated, 48% would remain, 29% leave.