David Cameron announced today that an incoming Tory administration would introduce a Sovereignty Bill to enshrine British powers, but defied Eurosceptics by appearing to rule out complete confrontation with Brussels.

The Conservative leader confirmed that he was dropping his pledge to give voters a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty because such a vote would be meaningless.

Spelling out his new Europe policy, Mr Cameron also made clear that renegotiating the return of powers from Brussels was not a priority for a Tory government.

In his only significant concession to Eurosceptic MPs, however, he announced that his administration would seek to pass a UK Sovereignty Bill "to make it clear that ultimate authority stays in this country, in our Parliament".

The Tory leader acknowledged that his campaign for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was over after its signature yesterday by the Czech President Vaclav Klaus. The signature meant that the treaty had now been ratified by all 27 European Union member states and would pass into law while EU members chose a new president and foreign policy supremo.

"We cannot hold a referendum and magically make those posts or the Lisbon Treaty itself disappear, any more than we could hold a referendum to stop the sun rising in the morning," he went on," Mr Cameron told a press conference.

But he went on: "We will make sure that this never, ever happens again. Never again should it be possible for a British government to transfer power to the European Union without the say of the British people in a referendum."

The Conservative leader said that people would "resent" the fact that there would not be the referendum that was promised by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

A Conservative government would amend the European Communities Act 1972 to prohibit the transfer of power to the EU without a referendum. That would cover any future attempt to take Britain into the European single currency, he said.

"We will give the British people a referendum lock to which only they should hold the key, a commitment very similar to that which exists in Ireland," Mr Cameron added.

"This is a major constitutional development, but I believe it’s now the only way to reassure the British people that powers cannot be given away without their explicit approval in a referendum."

The Tory leader also promised to pass a Sovereignty Act to ensure the UK Parliament retains its primacy, much in the same way that Germany's Constitutional Court ensures that EU instruments do not undermine the constitution of that country.

He said: "Because we have no written constitution, unlike many other EU countries, we have no explicit legal guarantee that the last word on our laws stays in Britain. There is therefore a danger that, over time, our courts might come to regard ultimate authority as resting with the EU.

"So as well as making sure that further power cannot be handed to the EU without a referendum, we will also introduce a new law, in the form of a United Kingdom Sovereignty Bill, to make it clear that ultimate authority stays in this country, in our Parliament."

He added: "This is not about Westminster striking down individual items of EU legislation. It is about an assurance that the final word on our laws is here in Britain.

"It would simply put Britain on a par with Germany, where the German Constitutional Court has consistently upheld - including most recently on the Lisbon treaty - that ultimate authority lies with the bodies established by the German Constitution."

Times Recommends

• Fern Britton: 'I still can't see that I was wrong'
• Extreme cooking
• Easy French: Tarte Tatin