EU referendum debate moved so David Cameron can attend

Downing Street has brought forward a Commons vote on a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU amid signs of a significant rebellion by Conservative backbenchers. The debate has been moved to allow David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague to attend. The prime minister has said he understands frustrations with the EU, but is opposed to a referendum. So far 76 MPs, including more than 50 Tories, have signed the motion. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says the prime minister wants to be there for the debate so he can look his backbenchers in the eye and tell them: "Don't do this." The government is considering tabling an amendment to the vote committing to a White Paper examining the powers of Europe - with the promise of a referendum some time in the future, Robinson added. Three choices The government would not be bound by the result of the vote, based on a motion by Tory MP David Nuttall, but it could prove politically tricky for the Conservative leadership. Mr Nuttall's motion calls for a referendum by May 2013 and says the public should have three options put to them in the nationwide vote - keeping the status quo, leaving the EU or reforming the terms of the UK's membership of the European Union. Conservative MPs are expected to face a three-line whip, which would require them to follow the party line and vote against the motion. The prime minister and foreign secretary were both due to miss the original date on 27 October because of a trip to Australia for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. But it will now take place on 24 October when Mr Hague will lead for the government. During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell said the British people were "crying out" for a referendum and urged the PM to "make history and give the British people the chance to vote on our future with the EU". In reply, Mr Cameron said he shared MPs' frustrations with the costs and bureaucracy involved in EU membership, but would oppose calls for a vote on whether to quit. "Of course we, the Conservative Party, are committed to the return of powers from Brussels to Westminster," he said. "We are also committed as a government that if power passes from Westminster to Brussels, there would have to be a referendum. That promise is good for the whole of this Parliament and beyond. "But I do not support holding a referendum come what may. That is not our policy and I will not be supporting that motion." 'Terrible timing' In response to a similar question from Tory backbencher Mark Pritchard, Mr Cameron added: "The right answer is not to hold a referendum willy-nilly in this Parliament when we have so much to do to get Europe to sort its problems out." Mr Pritchard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was willing to defy a three-line whip if necessary. "This is about country first, party second and career last," he said. He added: "This is not about necessarily the terms of a particular bill... or a future referendum, it's fundamentally about freedom, it's about democracy and it's about the legitimacy of the European project." Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, said, in an article in the Daily Telegraph, that "this is a backbench debate and there is no need for ministers to participate". "What matters is that backbench MPs of all parties should be free to vote in accordance with our beliefs and in the interests of our constituents," he added. But another Conservative Nadhim Zahawi said he believed the real argument against a referendum in 2013 was "terrible" timing. "We all agree there is a paradigm shift in the structures of the EU because of the eurozone crisis," he told the BBC. "What we should be doing is helping them get through that crisis and in return negotiating to take powers back to our country on employment law and social legislation." The idea of an in/out referendum has become an increasingly popular idea among Tory backbenchers although some argue that it is a distraction and their party must focus on returning powers to the UK Parliament as soon as possible. . A petition signed by more than 100,000 people, including Conservative and Labour MPs, calling for a referendum was handed into Downing Street last month. Members of the Commons Backbench Business Committee agreed to hold the debate on Monday.