British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a June 23 referendum on his country’s membership of the European Union in a decision which is replete with far-reaching consequences. All ears have been tuned to Britain in the past few months to pick up signals about where the country is heading in its debate on continuation in the European Union, with supporters and opponents unleashing a battery of well-honed arguments. A referendum will finally decide whether Britain will bolt from the bloc. And the world is watching with bated breath.
Britain has been a reluctant member of what some call a German-dominated bloc and many Britons say it is encroaching into its sovereignty with several decisions that are binding on all members.
The referendum was called after Cameron clinched a deal from 27 other leaders to give the UK a special status. The agreement Cameron reached in Brussels granted Britain an explicit exemption from the founding goal of “ever closer union”, offered concessions on the welfare rights of migrant workers and safeguards for the City of London. “Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union,” Cameron said, kicking off a four-month referendum campaign.
Other members of the European Union and the rest of the world, which would want the bloc to remain intact for a safer world, are viewing the referendum with trepidation. US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have urged Britain to stay. Several British political heavyweights are in favour of staying on and betting odds have moved further in favour of Britain remaining a member since Cameron’s summit deal in Brussels. The business community has issued dire warnings about the dangers of a divorce. BP and GlaxoSmithKline have cautioned that Britain’s $2.9 trillion economy would plunge into a prolonged period of uncertainty, while Goldman Sachs said sterling could fall by as much as a fifth.
But all that doesn’t mean a Yes vote is a certainty. Several ministers are in favour of an exit. One of Cameron’s closest political allies, Justice Secretary Michael Gove, and five other cabinet members are opposing the deal and said they would campaign to leave. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who can influence voters, is yet to make his position clear. The position of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, with his ownership of a clutch of British newspapers which can campaign for or against an exit, will also be crucial.
Whether Britain chooses to continue or secede, the referendum is a celebration of British democracy. The absence of rancour and hatred in the debate, the deployment of data for and against, and the participation of a country en masse point to a body of voters who are well-informed and capable of deciding the road their country needs to take.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a June 23 referendum on his country’s membership of the European Union in a decision which is replete with far-reaching consequences. All ears have been tuned to Britain in the past few months to pick up signals about where the country is heading in its debate on continuation in the European Union, with supporters and opponents unleashing a battery of well-honed arguments. A referendum will finally decide whether Britain will bolt from the bloc. And the world is watching with bated breath.
Britain has been a reluctant member of what some call a German-dominated bloc and many Britons say it is encroaching into its sovereignty with several decisions that are binding on all members.
The referendum was called after Cameron clinched a deal from 27 other leaders to give the UK a special status. The agreement Cameron reached in Brussels granted Britain an explicit exemption from the founding goal of “ever closer union”, offered concessions on the welfare rights of migrant workers and safeguards for the City of London. “Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union,” Cameron said, kicking off a four-month referendum campaign.
Other members of the European Union and the rest of the world, which would want the bloc to remain intact for a safer world, are viewing the referendum with trepidation. US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have urged Britain to stay. Several British political heavyweights are in favour of staying on and betting odds have moved further in favour of Britain remaining a member since Cameron’s summit deal in Brussels. The business community has issued dire warnings about the dangers of a divorce. BP and GlaxoSmithKline have cautioned that Britain’s $2.9 trillion economy would plunge into a prolonged period of uncertainty, while Goldman Sachs said sterling could fall by as much as a fifth.
But all that doesn’t mean a Yes vote is a certainty. Several ministers are in favour of an exit. One of Cameron’s closest political allies, Justice Secretary Michael Gove, and five other cabinet members are opposing the deal and said they would campaign to leave. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who can influence voters, is yet to make his position clear. The position of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, with his ownership of a clutch of British newspapers which can campaign for or against an exit, will also be crucial.
Whether Britain chooses to continue or secede, the referendum is a celebration of British democracy. The absence of rancour and hatred in the debate, the deployment of data for and against, and the participation of a country en masse point to a body of voters who are well-informed and capable of deciding the road their country needs to take.
