Prime Minister David Cameron came under further pressure over Europe on Monday when a senior lawmaker from his party said Britain should exit the EU if it failed to renegotiate its relationship.
Liam Fox, the former defence minister, said Britain should be freed from “the dogma of ever closer union” with Europe, and called for a referendum on Britain’s ties to the European Union.
In a speech, Fox said he wanted Britain to “negotiate a new relationship with the EU based on economic rather than political considerations”.
If Europe blocked the move Britain “would have no alternative but to recommend rejection and consider departure from the EU”, he said.
Like his Conservative party leader, Fox stressed however that now was not the time to hold the vote.
Cameron on Sunday opened the door to the possibility of a referendum but said it should not happen yet and left open what the question posed should be.
The prime minister faces mounting pressure from many members of his centre-right Conservative party for an “in or out” referendum on a complete withdrawal from the EU.
But any such move would face strong opposition from the Conservatives’ junior coalition partners, the more pro-Europe Liberal Democrats.
“There are those, including a growing number of my parliamentary colleagues, who call for a simple ‘in or out’ referendum to be held in Britain soon,” Fox told a meeting organised by the Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group.
“I too believe that a referendum will be vital but I believe that having one now would be an error with great tactical risks.” About 100 Conservative lawmakers wrote to Cameron last week calling for a legal commitment to holding a referendum in the next parliament.
“For me the two words ‘Europe’ and ‘referendum’ can go together,” Cameron wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
