‘I could back No vote’ on EU, Cameron says

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron suggested during an interview on 28 September 2014 that he would campaign for Britain to leave the EU if he was unable to renegotiate the country's membership terms.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Cameron stated that 'if I thought that it wasn’t in Britain’s interests to be in the EU I wouldn’t argue for us to be in it'. Some days later the Prime Minister stated he would not be heartbroken if Britain left the European Union because he felt little attachment to a relationship he said was not serving British interests.

The statement was known as the manufacturers' organisation EEF released a poll in which it found that 85% of those which were asked would vote to stay in the EU, and only 7% would opt to leave, despite the bloc's economic troubles.

Meanwhile UK's Chancellor George Osbourne announced that Conservative party backbenchers would be given a free vote in the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union in the next parliament.

• Primary Source

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

The Guardian, 29.09.14: Conservative backbenchers will get free vote on EU referendum, Osborne says http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/29/conservative-backbenchers-free-vote-eu-referendum-osborne

BBC News, 29.09.14: UK manufacturers 'want to stay in EU', poll finds http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29404745

EUObserver [Analysis], 29.09.14: Self-defeating Tories fighting over Europe again http://euobserver.com/political/125575

EurActiv, 30.09.14: UK 'about a thousand times' more important to Cameron than EU http://www.euractiv.com/sections/uk-europe/uk-about-thousand-times-more-important-cameron-eu-308807

BBC News, 30.09.14: I care much more about UK than EU, says David Cameron http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29423073

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