REBEL Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins was one of just 19 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a nationwide referendum on Britain’s membership of the European union.
Outspoken Mr Hopkins MP described Monday night’s Commons vote as “the beginning of a long campaign” to see the UK withdraw from Europe and defied Labour leader David Miliband’s instructions to vote against the referendum.
Mr Hopkins, agent for the ‘No’ campaign in Bedfordshire the 1975 referendum on Europe’s continuing involvement in Europe, cited a recent YouGov poll which found that 61 per cent of UK residents were in favour of a referendum during the Commons debate on Monday.
He told the House: “There’s no mystery as to why our political leaders are so opposed to holding a referendum.
“It is clear that they fear doing so because they fear that our electorate might vote for Britain to withdraw from the EU.
“If that happened I suspect that there might be a domino effect across the whole of the EU.
“I am, however, mystified as to why our leaders are so frightened of such an outcome.
“There’s the old chesnut that Britain’s economy depends on the EU and of the number of jobs that people say could be lost.
“The reality is that we’ve a massive trade deficit with the EU. It’s laughable that the EU could start a trade war with the UK (should the Uk withdraw) when it needs us so much more than we need it.
“This is the beginning of a long campaign and I look forward to its successful end.”
Among 81 Tory MPs to defy Prime Minister David Cameron’s three line whip to vote against a referundum was Mid Beds MP Nadine Dorries. Both Luton South MP Gavin Shuker and Central Beds Andrew Selous voted against the motion.