Tory EU rebellion: 'We will not back down over Cameron's plan to suspend purdah' - leading eurosceptic sends warning shot to PM

Bernard Jenkin says voters won't trust referendum result if government goes ahead with plans to lift usual pre-election ban on promotional material

Plans for an in/out referendum on EU membership received a boost as Labour dropped its opposition to the vote (AFP/Getty Images)

Eurosceptic Conservative MPs will not back down over their demands for David Cameron to reinstate the purdah period in the run up to the EU referendum, an influential backbencher has said.

Bernard Jenkin said the government’s plans to suspend the usual pre-election ban on promotional material produced by central and local government suggested it was “trying to rig” the referendum in favour of a Yes vote.

He warned that voters would not trust the outcome of the referendum if the government deployed its “vast resources” to sway the vote in their favour.

Tory eurosceptic Bernard Jernkin says voters will not trust referendum result if the government is able to pump out promotional material (PA)

And he insisted the Tory rebels – believed to include more than 100 – would resist any efforts to buy them off and would force an amendment to the European Union Referendum Bill to ensure the usual pre-election purdah rules apply.

It comes as Downing Street ruled out holding the referendum on the same day as elections for Welsh, Northern Ireland assemblies, the Scottish parliament elections and the London Mayoral vote in a bid to appease backbench rebels. The U-turn by Mr Cameron is seen as a compromise and an attempt to win over eurosceptics who are unhappy over the plans to suspend purdah.

Mr Jenkin, speaking on the Today programme, said: "It's about fairness and trust. Who will trust the result of this referendum if the Government have been able to deploy their vast resources pushing propaganda through people's letterboxes?

"It's about journalists ringing up civil servants and saying 'What does the Government mean by this?' and, instead of saying, as during a general election, 'I'm sorry that's a matter for the No campaign or the Yes campaign' the Government uses its entire publicity machine to brief the media, to skew the battlefield in favour of their particular side of the debate.

"I don't think anybody in their right mind wants this. I don't think the Government wants it. I think they realise they have opened a bit of a Pandora's box. They will be looking for a way to resolve this.

David Cameron wants normal purdah rules not to apply during the referendum campaign because he fears it will impair the rest of the government's responsibilities (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

"But the bottom line is they should restore purdah in this Referendum Bill and, if they want to bring forward amendments later in the Bill to deal with particular concerns they have got, let's talk about that.

"But we can't back down on this amendment."

The government argues that applying purdah in the run up to the referendum would significantly impair the rest of the government's responsibilities during the period.

Its move to rule out a referendum clashing with other UK elections marks a significant U-turn. The Prime Minister said only last week: "I think the British public are quite capable of going to a polling booth and making two important decisions rather than just one."

It means the referendum will not be held on May 5 next year.