JAMES Wharton’s EU Referendum Bill was attacked as a “cynical, pointless stunt” yesterday – by his own local Tory councillor.

Mark Chatburn risked embarrassing the Stockton South MP when he branded the legislation a bid to “combat the rise of UKIP and to try to appease Tory backbenchers”.

Later, the Yarm and Kirklevington councillor echoed North-East Labour MPs when he said Mr Wharton should have picked a “more important issue” for his Bill.

Mr Chatburn said: “I think it should have been something to get the economy moving, or to speed up help to get women into work.”

Asked if he was embarrassing Mr Wharton, he replied: “I don’t think so. I don’t doubt he was under great pressure from party colleagues and the whips, which was very difficult to resist.”

But the Stockton South MP pointed out that Cllr Chatburn had earlier tweeted his support for his Bill, writing: “Want out the EU? Vote for James!”

Mr Wharton said: “Mark is a well known local eccentric, whose opinion changes as the day goes on.

“I have every confidence he did not mean to be taken seriously with his comments on Facebook, late at night, and would remind him what he said earlier.”

However, interviewed by The Northern Echo, the councillor stood by his Facebook comments, saying: “There are more pressing issues than Europe, which is not high on anyone’s list of priorities.”

On Facebook, he had written: “Quite laughable people are getting excited about the EU referendum bill, bearing in mind Parliament cannot bind its successors and it’s unlikely that pro-EU Cameron will be PM to deliver on it.

“It’s a transparently cynical attempt to combat the rise of UKIP and to try to appease Tory backbenchers. A cynical, pointless stunt, nothing more….”

Mr Wharton topped the annual backbench ballot for the right to bring forward his own legislation, thrusting him into the national spotlight.

Mr Wharton then delighted fellow Conservatives by opting to sponsor – with Downing Street’s help - a Bill paving the way for a poll on whether the UK should quit the EU.

If successful, the Bill would set in law Mr Cameron’s commitment to a referendum before the end of 2017 – unless the next Government repeals the legislation.

It also lays down a strict deadline - December 31, 2016 - by which the next Government must set the referendum date.

However, the Bill is odds-on to be ‘talked out’ at some later stage, rather then reach the statute book.