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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| David Cameron: I won't quit if Britain votes to leave EU | David Cameron: I won't quit if Britain votes to leave EU |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| David Cameron has said he would not resign as prime minister if Britain voted to leave the European Union. | David Cameron has said he would not resign as prime minister if Britain voted to leave the European Union. |
| Ahead of this month's European elections, the Conservative leader has said he "absolutely" gives a cast-iron pledge that a referendum on Britain's EU membership will happen before the end of 2017. | Ahead of this month's European elections, the Conservative leader has said he "absolutely" gives a cast-iron pledge that a referendum on Britain's EU membership will happen before the end of 2017. |
| He also said he would not "sit on the fence" if he did not get the outcome he wanted in renegotiations about the UK's relationship with Brussels, hinting that he could campaign to leave the EU in certain circumstances. | |
| Asked whether he would resign if the UK voted to leave, Cameron told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The point about these referendums is that there is a question on these referendums and the question is not 'do you want the prime minister to stay or go?' – whether it's the case with Scotland or Europe; the question is, in the case of Scotland, 'do you want Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom?', 'do you want the United Kingdom to stay in Europe?'" | Asked whether he would resign if the UK voted to leave, Cameron told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The point about these referendums is that there is a question on these referendums and the question is not 'do you want the prime minister to stay or go?' – whether it's the case with Scotland or Europe; the question is, in the case of Scotland, 'do you want Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom?', 'do you want the United Kingdom to stay in Europe?'" |
| Cameron has been fleshing out some of his aims for EU reform, including tougher restrictions on migrants claiming benefits and exempting Britain from an obligation to be part of "ever closer union", which is written into the treaty of Rome. | Cameron has been fleshing out some of his aims for EU reform, including tougher restrictions on migrants claiming benefits and exempting Britain from an obligation to be part of "ever closer union", which is written into the treaty of Rome. |
| However, he is under pressure over his strategy on EU immigration, after saying he does not want to change the right of current EU citizens to live and work in the bloc but might want tougher restrictions on freedom of movement rules imposed for new entrants if they have a low per capita income. | However, he is under pressure over his strategy on EU immigration, after saying he does not want to change the right of current EU citizens to live and work in the bloc but might want tougher restrictions on freedom of movement rules imposed for new entrants if they have a low per capita income. |
| "Free movement within the European Union is important but it needs to be returned to the original concept, which was the freedom to be able to go and work in another country," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday. | "Free movement within the European Union is important but it needs to be returned to the original concept, which was the freedom to be able to go and work in another country," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday. |
| Some Conservatives are worried about immigration figures due to be published on the day of the European elections that are expected to show higher immigration into the UK from Romania and Bulgaria. | Some Conservatives are worried about immigration figures due to be published on the day of the European elections that are expected to show higher immigration into the UK from Romania and Bulgaria. |
| Ukip accused him of not going far enough to deal with immigration from the EU. Nigel Farage, the party's leader, said voters would struggle to believe Cameron's promise to hold a referendum was "worth a row of beans". | Ukip accused him of not going far enough to deal with immigration from the EU. Nigel Farage, the party's leader, said voters would struggle to believe Cameron's promise to hold a referendum was "worth a row of beans". |
| Farage told BBC1's Sunday Politics: "He has difficulty being believed because five years ago I sat here talking to you about the European elections and you put to me: 'Well, it's going to be very difficult, Nigel, for people to vote Ukip because Mr Cameron has given a cast-iron guarantee that if he becomes prime minister next year he'll have a referendum on the Lisbon treaty.'" | Farage told BBC1's Sunday Politics: "He has difficulty being believed because five years ago I sat here talking to you about the European elections and you put to me: 'Well, it's going to be very difficult, Nigel, for people to vote Ukip because Mr Cameron has given a cast-iron guarantee that if he becomes prime minister next year he'll have a referendum on the Lisbon treaty.'" |
| "He didn't deliver on that and he knows that people struggle to believe firstly, that he will get a majority and secondly, that the renegotiation is actually worth a row of beans." | "He didn't deliver on that and he knows that people struggle to believe firstly, that he will get a majority and secondly, that the renegotiation is actually worth a row of beans." |
| The prime minister has attacked Ukip more directly over the last week, calling the party a threat to Britain. In an appeal to his core vote, Cameron addressed an article in the Sunday Telegraph at those whose pencils were hovering over the Conservative box on their postal votes for the 22 May elections, which are due to arrive on doormats over the next few days. | The prime minister has attacked Ukip more directly over the last week, calling the party a threat to Britain. In an appeal to his core vote, Cameron addressed an article in the Sunday Telegraph at those whose pencils were hovering over the Conservative box on their postal votes for the 22 May elections, which are due to arrive on doormats over the next few days. |
| He also criticised those politicians who "refuse to be upbeat about Britain" in a thinly veiled attack on Ukip. "To them, pessimism equals patriotism," he wrote. | He also criticised those politicians who "refuse to be upbeat about Britain" in a thinly veiled attack on Ukip. "To them, pessimism equals patriotism," he wrote. |
| "They insist that our best days are behind us and that everything is bound to get worse. Like Private Frazer politicians they're perennially crying out that 'we're all doomed'." | "They insist that our best days are behind us and that everything is bound to get worse. Like Private Frazer politicians they're perennially crying out that 'we're all doomed'." |