Campaigning: The Prime Minister on a tour of Exeter Science Park in Devon yesterday . Two senior Conservatives tipped as potential successors to David Cameron have broken ranks to insist Britain should not fear an exit from the EU. London Mayor Boris Johnson insisted a British exit – or ‘Brexit’ – ‘wouldn’t be disastrous’, while Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, a rising Tory star, said it was ‘not something anyone should be frightened of’. A Conservative pledge to give people their first say on Britain’s place in Europe for nearly 40 years – and a commitment to stop European human rights judges interfering in British law – will be central to the party’s pitch ahead of May’s general election. Both Mr Johnson and Mr Javid have backed the Prime Minister’s plan to renegotiate looser ties with Brussels before holding an in/out referendum by the end of 2017. However, they went further than Mr Cameron on the possibility of an exit, insisting Britain could prosper outside the EU. In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Johnson said: ‘I think Brexit is possible... [Britain] would very rapidly come to an alternative arrangement that protected our basic trading interests. 'I must be clear. I think there would be a pretty testy, scratchy period... [but] it wouldn’t be disastrous.’ The London Mayor, who is bidding to return to Westminster at the election, also declared himself ‘definitely’ a social liberal. Dismissing the concerns of some Right-wing Tory MPs over Mr Cameron’s decision to legalise gay marriage, Mr Johnson said: ‘I can’t see what the fuss is about.’ Mr Javid, a protege of Chancellor George Osborne, said on the question of Britain’s EU membership: ‘My faith is in the British people. If they decide that, taking into account the renegotiation, they want to continue that relationship with the EU, of course that’s something everyone would accept. ‘But if they decide to end that relationship then that is not something anyone should be frightened of.’ The Culture Secretary told political magazine The House there were ‘some significant changes we rightly want to see in our relationship with the EU’. ‘That’s the whole point of having the negotiation followed by a referendum. I think the in/out referendum is the exact thing that concentrates the minds of your European partners. ‘If you haven’t got that then why would they seriously consider anything you want to change? And when that referendum takes place, clearly whether we are in or out is rightly a decision for the British people. It’s something the British people have wanted a say on for many years.’ Looking for an exit? Boris Johnson broke ranks to say pulling out of the EU would not be disastrous . He also suggested Tory MPs should be free to campaign on either side of the debate. ‘We’ve already seen in this Parliament, in all parties, that when it comes to issues that are really important to people… MPs ultimately, they have a relationship with their constituents and they will decide which way it is they want to campaign,’ Mr Javid said. ‘But this is something the Conservative Party is united on: we must get a renegotiation and we must put that to the British people in a referendum.’ Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said the British people deserve to have their say and should be respected . As well as underlining his pledge to hold an EU referendum, Mr Cameron is expected to detail Tory plans to curtail the role of the controversial European Court of Human Rights in the UK. He is expected to pledge to scrap Labour’s Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. Mr Cameron will promise to establish pre-eminence for Britain’s Parliament and Supreme Court, allowing them to over-ride Strasbourg rulings. The European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act, has become increasingly unpopular with most Conservatives. Critics say the Strasbourg court has roamed way beyond its remit and created new rights never intended by the founders of the convention. The ECHR has also been cited by dozens of people fighting deportation, who have argued its provisions mean they are entitled to various rights. Tory grandee Kenneth Clarke, a staunch Europhile, said an EU referendum could bring about the collapse of the United Kingdom. He told The Irish Times: ‘It is only just dawning on people that if we have a referendum [on the EU] and the English vote to leave and the Scots vote to stay, then I think that that will be the end of the UK. I don’t want to see the end of the UK.’ His comments came as a survey revealed that more voters now believe the UK’s closest ties should be with the EU (30 per cent) than with the US (25 per cent). It is the first time Europe has come out on top since the survey by respected international think-tank Chatham House was first conducted in 2010.
London mayor and the Culture Secretary Sajid Javid both broke ranks .
Mr Johnson: 'It wouldn't be disastrous'. Mr Javid: 'People want their say'
Tories expected to put EU referendum pledge at heart of May manifesto .
Campaigning: The Prime Minister on a tour of Exeter Science Park in Devon yesterday . Two senior Conservatives tipped as potential successors to David Cameron have broken ranks to insist Britain should not fear an exit from the EU. London Mayor Boris Johnson insisted a British exit – or ‘Brexit’ – ‘wouldn’t be disastrous’, while Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, a rising Tory star, said it was ‘not something anyone should be frightened of’. A Conservative pledge to give people their first say on Britain’s place in Europe for nearly 40 years – and a commitment to stop European human rights judges interfering in British law – will be central to the party’s pitch ahead of May’s general election. Both Mr Johnson and Mr Javid have backed the Prime Minister’s plan to renegotiate looser ties with Brussels before holding an in/out referendum by the end of 2017. However, they went further than Mr Cameron on the possibility of an exit, insisting Britain could prosper outside the EU. In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Johnson said: ‘I think Brexit is possible... [Britain] would very rapidly come to an alternative arrangement that protected our basic trading interests. 'I must be clear. I think there would be a pretty testy, scratchy period... [but] it wouldn’t be disastrous.’ The London Mayor, who is bidding to return to Westminster at the election, also declared himself ‘definitely’ a social liberal. Dismissing the concerns of some Right-wing Tory MPs over Mr Cameron’s decision to legalise gay marriage, Mr Johnson said: ‘I can’t see what the fuss is about.’ Mr Javid, a protege of Chancellor George Osborne, said on the question of Britain’s EU membership: ‘My faith is in the British people. If they decide that, taking into account the renegotiation, they want to continue that relationship with the EU, of course that’s something everyone would accept. ‘But if they decide to end that relationship then that is not something anyone should be frightened of.’ The Culture Secretary told political magazine The House there were ‘some significant changes we rightly want to see in our relationship with the EU’. ‘That’s the whole point of having the negotiation followed by a referendum. I think the in/out referendum is the exact thing that concentrates the minds of your European partners. ‘If you haven’t got that then why would they seriously consider anything you want to change? And when that referendum takes place, clearly whether we are in or out is rightly a decision for the British people. It’s something the British people have wanted a say on for many years.’ Looking for an exit? Boris Johnson broke ranks to say pulling out of the EU would not be disastrous . He also suggested Tory MPs should be free to campaign on either side of the debate. ‘We’ve already seen in this Parliament, in all parties, that when it comes to issues that are really important to people… MPs ultimately, they have a relationship with their constituents and they will decide which way it is they want to campaign,’ Mr Javid said. ‘But this is something the Conservative Party is united on: we must get a renegotiation and we must put that to the British people in a referendum.’ Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said the British people deserve to have their say and should be respected . As well as underlining his pledge to hold an EU referendum, Mr Cameron is expected to detail Tory plans to curtail the role of the controversial European Court of Human Rights in the UK. He is expected to pledge to scrap Labour’s Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. Mr Cameron will promise to establish pre-eminence for Britain’s Parliament and Supreme Court, allowing them to over-ride Strasbourg rulings. The European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act, has become increasingly unpopular with most Conservatives. Critics say the Strasbourg court has roamed way beyond its remit and created new rights never intended by the founders of the convention. The ECHR has also been cited by dozens of people fighting deportation, who have argued its provisions mean they are entitled to various rights. Tory grandee Kenneth Clarke, a staunch Europhile, said an EU referendum could bring about the collapse of the United Kingdom. He told The Irish Times: ‘It is only just dawning on people that if we have a referendum [on the EU] and the English vote to leave and the Scots vote to stay, then I think that that will be the end of the UK. I don’t want to see the end of the UK.’ His comments came as a survey revealed that more voters now believe the UK’s closest ties should be with the EU (30 per cent) than with the US (25 per cent). It is the first time Europe has come out on top since the survey by respected international think-tank Chatham House was first conducted in 2010.
while Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, a rising wouldn’t be disastrous.’ The London Mayor, who is Johnson broke ranks to say pulling out of the EU deserve to have their say and should be respected referendum, Mr Cameron is expected to detail Tory