TORY ministers are “rigging” the vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union, MPs from all parties warned yesterday.

Voters are set to have their first say on EU membership since 1975 after the government’s referendum Bill yesterday passed its second reading in Parliament.

Labour MP Kate Hoey hailed a “great day for democracy.”

But she and other MPs sounded the alarm over Tory plans to spend taxpayer’s cash on pro-EU propaganda.

The Bill does not include the normal 28-day “purdah” period that guarantees government impartiality ahead of elections and referendums.

Ms Hoey warned: “My concern is that there are some elements in this Bill that people at the end of the result will not feel they have had a free and fair vote.

“The purdah aspect is just wrong. I do not believe that proves to the British people that the government wants a free and fair vote.”

The issue also intensified Tory infighting over the EU after PM David Cameron this week threatened to sack anti-EU ministers.

A Downing Street spokeswoman defended the decision to scrap purdah yesterday, saying Mr Cameron was clear that “the government is not going to be neutral on this.”

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond claimed scrapping purdah would not mean the government would “spend large sums of public money” on campaigning to remain in the EU.

But former minister Owen Paterson, one of a parade of Tory backbenchers in open rebellion against the plan, blasted his excuses as “nonsense.”

He said the vote would appear “rigged” to voters and warned the result “could be seen as illegitimate.”

The government was also criticised for its proposals to increase the spending limit for the lead campaign organisers from £5 million to £7m.

In practice that would hand the Yes campaign, with EU backing, a huge financial advantage.

Ms Hoey said: “It is going to be absolutely disgraceful if the European Commission is going to continue to pour in money which is used for propaganda.”

The veteran Vauxhall MP was criticised for going on to to describe the Commission as an “unelected dictatorship.”

Defending her comments, she said: “I think that the European Commission can dictate what it wants to do and we in this Parliament have no say in how money is spent and what they do.”