A senior British Cabinet minister said Sunday he will support an exit from the European Union if there was a vote on it, as Prime Minister David Cameron faces a revolt over Europe from Conservative MPs.
Up to 100 Eurosceptic Conservative MPs may back an amendment this week criticising the legislative plans unveiled by the coalition on Wednesday as these did not include a bill for a referendum on Britain’s continued EU membership.
Ministers have been ordered not to join the rebels but can abstain, a sign of the extent of the divisions that have dogged Mr Cameron’s party for decades. Three senior ministers, including education secretary Michael Gove, said Sunday they were ready to abstain. Mr Gove is the seniormost Tory leader to confirm he would back Britain’s withdrawal from the EU if there were a vote.
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Decision by both PM & Sonia: Cong
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, May 12
Trying to dispel the impression that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had pushed Prime Minister Mamohan Singh to drop Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal from the Cabinet, the Congress insisted Sunday the two decided this “jointly”. AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said: “The media said it was at the insistence of the Congress president that the two ministers were dropped. This is not correct. It was a joint decision.”