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Brexit referendum campaign took off on Friday, ten weeks ahead of June 23

Monday, April 18th 2016 - 10:12 UTC
Full article 4 comments
The Leave campaign's biggest name -- charismatic London mayor Boris Johnson -- will lead its “Brexit blitz” with rallies on the weekend in northern cities. The Leave campaign's biggest name -- charismatic London mayor Boris Johnson -- will lead its “Brexit blitz” with rallies on the weekend in northern cities.
In the “Remain” corner PM Cameron says UK has a “special status” within the EU thanks to a renegotiation he sealed in February In the “Remain” corner PM Cameron says UK has a “special status” within the EU thanks to a renegotiation he sealed in February
Jeremy Corbyn only made his first big pro-EU speech on Thursday and previously opposed EU membership, but could play a key role in engaging voters Jeremy Corbyn only made his first big pro-EU speech on Thursday and previously opposed EU membership, but could play a key role in engaging voters

Campaigning in Britain's Brexit referendum officially started on Friday, ten weeks ahead of a vote that will hand Britons their first chance to have their say on Europe since 1975. With opinion polls suggesting the British public are deeply divided on whether to stay in the EU, the Leave campaign's biggest name -- charismatic London mayor Boris Johnson -- will lead its “Brexit blitz” with rallies on the weekend in northern cities.

 Johnson, who is seeking to persuade the British people that they could thrive if cut free from EU red tape, has compared leaving the bloc to escaping from prison, saying the referendum was “like the jailor has accidentally left the door of the jail open and people can see the sunlit lands beyond”.

In the “Remain” corner is Prime Minister David Cameron, who says Britain has a “special status” within the EU thanks to a renegotiation he sealed in February, and that the country will be richer and stronger if it stays in.

He is confident of winning the June 23 poll, despite deep divisions within his Conservative party on Europe and recent difficulties over a controversial budget, threats to Britain's steel industry and the so-called Panama Papers leak.

His “Britain Stronger In Europe” campaign has drawn support from the country's main political parties and some of its biggest employers. International bodies such as the International Monetary Fund have also warned that a Brexit could damage Britain.

Debate about whether Britain should stay in the EU has been raging for weeks, but the race shifted up a gear this week when the two official campaigns were crowned by election officials.

This unlocked a treasure chest of publicly-funded benefits for both sides to ramp up their campaigns, as well as removing the ambiguity about who will be the major faces seeking to persuade Britons either way.

Opinion polls indicate the referendum -- which has so far centered on the economy and immigration, but which few voters outside Westminster have engaged with -- will be tight.

The “Remain” and “Leave” camps are level on 50% support, according to a poll of polls run by academics at the What UK Thinks project.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour, only made his first big pro-EU speech Thursday and previously opposed EU membership but could play a key role in engaging voters, particularly the young.

“It is a good rule in politics to always take a gun to a knife fight,” wrote former Labour advisor John McTernan in the Daily Telegraph Thursday. “Currently Labour, and 'Remain', are taking deckchairs. That has to end.”

Voters are also increasingly distrustful of what Cameron tells them about the referendum, YouGov polling for The Times suggested this week, as the government started sending millions of pro-EU leaflets to British homes. It found that only 21% of people trusted his statements and claims on the issue, down eight percentage points in two months.

Turnout is likely to be key in determining the outcome, experts believe.

“Such evidence as we do have consistently points to 'Leave' voters reporting on being keener to make it to the polls,” said John Curtice of Strathclyde University, Britain's leading poll expert.

“Leave” campaigners took heart from the fact that only 32% of people in the Netherlands voted in last week's referendum on an EU deal with Ukraine, seen as linked to anti-Brussels sentiment. For their part, the “Remain” camp this week launched a YouTube campaign called “Talk To Gran” urging young people to persuade their grandparents to vote for continued EU membership.

Categories: Economy, Politics, International.

Top Comments

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  • ChrisR

    The biggest assets to the LEAVE camp is not Boris but the twin vipers of Camoron and Osborne.

    'Ossie' now claims that income taxes will have to be raised to cover the £36Bn black hole BUT it transpires the Treasury got to that figure by adding another 3M immigrants!

    Has it not dawned on these twats that when the UK is once more sovereign it can close its' borders and admit only those it wants to admit?

    The EU claim of course that to deal with them means the UK MUST take immigrants, overlooking the fact that the balance of payments is in the EU direction! I wonder if the people selling to the UK want that to stop: do bears crap in the woods, does Merkel look like an old hag?

    Apr 18th, 2016 - 06:24 pm 0
  • Briton

    If the government ever told us the truth abt the EU and what's coming down the pipe,
    they would be gone by now,

    lies upon lies,
    but at the end of the day we will see who the fools are.

    Apr 18th, 2016 - 07:35 pm 0
  • Skip

    It will be interesting what freedom of movement might exist if the UK leaves the EU. There are many UK citizens living and working in the EU so the borders won' suddenly shut. However what the UK will have more control over is taxes and benefits of any potential EU immigrants and this may slow the number down.

    The UK is already a land of immigrants and the current generation of new migrants will eventually meld and join in and become just as British like previous waves. One of the great things about this is that the UK is on track to become the most populous country in not just the EU, but Europe. Currently it sits behind Russia (146m) and Germany (81m).

    There are many detractors that harp on about how unimportant the UK is and how undeserving of a UN P5 seat etc. and yet it will become the largest country with the largest economy in that region of the world outside of the EU.

    I'm all for the UK leaving the EU. But this is not because I am anti-EU. The EU has a lot of strengths and benefits. However it is not a good fit for the UK. But it will continue to exist and will still be one of the UK's major foreign preoccupations even after Brexit.

    Apr 18th, 2016 - 11:04 pm 0
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