If David Cameron is punished by Conservatives after the referendum, he has only himself to blame

In the event that Britain votes to remain in the EU, could those recriminations include demands for another referendum? Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader has suggested so. Tactically, he is probably unwise to do so, since it makes the Leavers look like they are preparing for defeat, when, of course, all is still to play for. Yet Mr Farage raises a legitimate question: under what circumstances would British voters again be asked to decide on EU membership?

The Remain camp likes to argue that leaving would mean uncertainty for Britain, but so too would staying in the EU. How might the union change if Greece falls out of the eurozone? If Italy slides into a full-blown banking crisis? If France elects Marine Le Pen of the Front National as president? If far-Right populists continue to gain ground across the continent? If in response to either demographic or economic crisis, the euro-using majority of EU states force through new rules that are manifestly against British interests?

All of these things are possible and any one of them might cause some British voters to reconsider EU membership, so it is reasonable to ask how long Britain will be bound by next month’s result. Mr Cameron, to his credit, answered that question yesterday, declaring that the referendum is “once in a generation, once in a lifetime”. If that is so, voters should go to the polls knowing that if they do indeed vote to stay, Britain will have to remain in the EU through whatever crisis and turmoil it endures in the decades ahead.