British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a major defeat in a
parliamentary vote Wednesday, after rebels in his Conservative Party
ganged up with the opposition Labour Party to press for a cut in the EU
budget.
The motion was passed with 307 votes for and 294 votes
against, and signalled the biggest setback since the
Conservative-Liberal coalition government came to power in May 2010,
Xinhua reported.
Some 53 Conservative MPs backed a motion
demanding Cameron to request a cut in the EU's 2014-20 budget when the
EU leaders meet in Brussels next month.
Cameron had sought to
rally Conservative loyalists, telling the House of Commons that "this
government is taking the toughest line in these budget negotiations of
any government since we joined the European Union".
The British prime minister said he would veto any real terms rise in 2014-20 financial framework.
