British Prime Minister David Cameron's government on Monday (7 September) suffered its first defeat in parliament since its re-election in May, after Eurosceptic Tories joined opposition lawmakers to reject proposed rules for a European Union membership referendum.
The referendum bill was passed in the early hours of Tuesday by the House of Commons, with the Eurosceptic and Labour lawmakers defeated by 312 to 285 votes preventing the government from relaxing so-called “purdah” laws.