EAST Cambridgeshire’s two MPs remained loyal to David Cameron’s Government in Wednesday’s key parliamentary vote on the EU budget.
Sir Jim Paice, who was sacked by the prime minister as farming minister in September, and Stephen Barclay both voted no to a proposal to cut the EU’s spending between 2014 and 2020.
Despite their support however, a group of 53 Conservative MPs chose to defy their leader and vote for the cut, leading to an embarrassing defeat for the Government by 307 votes to 294, albeit in a non-binding vote.
Peterborough’s Stewart Jackson and Bury St Edmund’s David Ruffley were among the MPs who rebelled.
The European Commission’s proposed budget for 2014-2020 would see a five per cent increase in spending on the current seven-year period.
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