Britse parlementariërs stemmen over referendum over Europees verdrag (en)
British MPs will today (5 March) vote on whether a referendum should be held on the EU treaty.
Two amendments calling for a public poll are to be put to the vote, one put forward by the opposition Conservatives and one drawn up by Labour MP Ian Davidson.
Mr Davidson's amendment also allows for the wider question of whether Britain should stay in the 27-nation EU.
According to the Daily Telegraph, this amendment is more dangerous to prime minister Gordon Brown's government, which has been hoping to avoid a referendum, as it could appeal to a wider number of MPs, including rebel Labour MPs and Liberal Democrats.
Labour MP Gisela Stuart, in favour of a referendum, is quoted as saying that the vote could be "very close" but that she expected the government to win a majority.
The vote is expected at around 20.00 CET.
Leader of the Conservatives David Cameron has said he hopes the referendum amendment will get passed.
"If enough of [Liberal Democrats] vote with us and if there are enough Labour MPs who vote to keep their word, we can get the referendum that the British people were promised," he said, according to the BBC.
Mr Cameron was referring to a pledge made by previous prime minister Tony Blair to hold a referendum on the now-shelved EU constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
The current EU treaty, drawn up some two years later and retaining many of the constitution's elements, is sufficiently similar to require a referendum, say the opposition.
But the government argues that as the treaty no longer has constitutional implications it does not need to be put to the public for a vote. It also argues that it secured all of its red lines in the document.
The treaty has to be ratified by all member states before it can come into force, with Ireland the only country to have said it will have a referendum. So far, Britain - seen as one of the most eurosceptic EU nations - has been having the bitterest debate on the treaty.