A total of 79 of his MPs voted for a Commons motion calling for a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the EU, even though Mr Cameron had ordered his party to oppose it. Two tellers indicated they supported the motion.
Another two Tories voted yes and no, the traditional way of registering an abstention. A further 12 did not vote.
In all, about half of all Conservatives outside the “payroll vote” of ministers and their aides scorned Mr Cameron’s authority. Rebel leaders warned that the Prime Minister faced a protracted “war” with his own party over the European issue.
The call for a referendum was defeated only because Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs also opposed it. The motion was rejected by 483 votes to 111 in the late-night Commons vote.
At least two junior members of the Government backed the referendum motion and resigned. They included Adam Holloway, an aide to David Lidington, the Europe Minister, who accused ministers of mistreating loyal Conservatives.
Previously, the biggest Conservative rebellion over Europe came in 1993 when 41 Tory MPs defied John Major over the Maastricht treaty. The revolt was also easily the biggest that Mr Cameron’s government has suffered on any issue.
Many Conservative MPs are unhappy about aspects of Mr Cameron’s Coalition deal with the Liberal Democrats, and the new mood of defiance raises the prospect of more challenges to the Prime Minister’s authority in future.
After the vote, David Nuttall, the Conservative MP who proposed the referendum motion, warned ministers that they had “won this particular battle but they certainly have not won the war.”
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, described the vote as “a humiliation” for the Prime Minister. “If he can’t win the argument with his own backbenchers, how can the country have confidence that he can win the arguments that matter for Britain?” he said.
Sir George Young, the Leader of the House, denied that the Conservatives were split, saying: “It is not Maastricht.”
However, one of those Tories who backed the motion, Douglas Carswell, said it was the night Euroscepticism “went mainstream” in the Commons.
“Finally, people in the Westminster bubble are beginning to reflect the real concerns that people out there have about Europe,” he said.
A No10 spokesman said: “The House of Commons has clearly voted against this motion.
“We understand that many people who voted for it felt very strongly – and we respect that. However, the Government has to do what is in the national interest.
“The easy thing to do would have been for us to have avoided expressing a view. It was important to take a strong lead because Britain’s best interests are served by being in the EU.
Earlier, during more than six hours of debate, a string of Conservative MPs accused Mr Cameron of mishandling the EU referendum issue by imposing a three-line whip on the vote, the strongest possible order to back the Government.
The Telegraph
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