Although becoming increasingly disillusioned during this time by what he considered the party's drift to the left, he was the leading Labour figure in the EEC referendum of June 1975 (and was also president of the 'Yes' campaign). In September 1974 he had followed Shirley Williams in stating that he "could not stay in a Cabinet which had to carry out withdrawal" from the EEC. During the referendum campaign, Tony Benn claimed that 500,000 jobs had been lost due to Britain's membership; Jenkins replied on 27 May that "I find it increasingly difficult to take Mr Benn seriously as an economics minister". He added that Britain outside the EEC would enter "an old people's home for fading nations. ... I do not even think it would be a comfortable or agreeable old people's home. I do not much like the look of some of the prospective wardens". The two men debated Britain's membership together on "Panorama", which was chaired by David Dimbleby. According to David Butler and Uwe Kitzinger, "they achieved a decidedly more lucid and intricate level of discussion than is commonly seen on political television". Jenkins found it congenial to work with the centrists of all parties in the campaign and the 'Yes' campaign won by two to one.