and he was dismayed by Anthony Crosland's decision to grant an amnesty to the 11 Labour councillors at Clay Cross who had been surcharged for refusing to increase council rents in accordance with the Conservatives' Housing Finance Act 1972. After two trade unionists, Ricky Tomlinson and Des Warren (known as the "Shrewsbury Two"), were imprisoned for intimidation and affray for their part in a strike, Jenkins refused to accede to demands from the labour movement that they should be released. This demonstrated Jenkins' increasing estrangement from much of the labour movement and for a time he was heckled in public by people chanting "Free the Two". Jenkins also unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Cabinet to adopt electoral reform in the form of proportional representation and to have the Official Secrets Act 1911 liberalised to facilitate more open government. 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. After the referendum, Wilson demoted Benn to Energy Secretary and attempted to balance the downgrading of Benn with the dismissal of the right-wing minister Reg Prentice from the Department of Education, despite already promising Jenkins that he had no intention of sacking Prentice. Jenkins threatened to resign if Prentice was sacked,