world

Cameron proposes British vote on EU exit

11 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

11 Comments
Login to comment

This is a very big political gamble for Mr. Cameron. Unfortunately, it is a gamble that he has found also as difficult to avoid. Ever since the United Kingdom was taken into the then Common Market back in 1975 by Edward Heath some British politicians and, instigated by them, a section of the British public, have never felt comfortable in an organization that has evolved from its origins as a free trading area into a political and, what is more important, economic union. The current mess in the euro zone has provoked more political and economic harmonization which will have enormous consequences for everybody else-- whether they form part of the euro zone or not. If Mr. Cameron wants to stand a chance of an outright win a the next general election he has to regain voters who at the moment may cast their vote in favour of the United Kingdom Independence Party --UKIP-- as well as some indecisive voters across the political spectrum. This strategy might just work for Mr. Cameron if Germany considers the United Kingdom's ongoing membership of the European Union worth the price to pay in exchange for broader european stability of which Germany will be the main beneficiary. Time will tell.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The EU was a huge mistake in the first place.

The cultural diversity of Europe is one of the really interesting things about it. Losing this by creating a kind of "United States of Europe" is not a good idea.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not sure I want the UK to be isolated once we raise the drawbridge... then again, a lot can happen between now and 2017.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

.@Serrano

Nah. The UK leaves, the entire continent will be speaking German in five years. Guess I'd better crack open a textbook....

@Herve

It's not about the tax, brother. It's about the excitement of being part of a genuine, unified European nation. Given Europe's history, that's going to be a stupendous achievement, with or without the whinging Brits ("But we're different. We're unique. We want special treatment....")...

Thinking about it, my tyre-raft's not going to work. I need inner-tubes.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The EU is a sinking ship, not unlike the Costa Concordia. But, don't expect a Grexit to lead the way. The takers will keep taking til there's nothing they can take.

Best to observe the Germans as they attempt to repatriate their gold (all holdings stored in UK and France, and part from the FRB in NYC(who, btw, are saying it'll take SEVEN YEARS to get out of the Manhattan vault - Is it even there?).

There's an excellent article on RT.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

luca, best you start lashing those tyres together, pal. But, if you think the tax environment is more advantageous in Belgium, you'd best look to greener horizons with the help of TDV.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Agree with Herve - let the U.K. citizens decide for themselves.

luca - I hope can you speak Dutch or French.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Get lost Cameron, I'm an EU citizen and nobody's taking that away from me. If the UK leaves, I'm going to sail to Belgium on a raft made of tyres, to apply for asylum in Brussels.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Let the Brits decide for themselves.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Of course Cameron is playing domestic politics. Does he have a choice? Just as Labour paid the price for abandoning the working class who stayed at home in 2010, Cameron has to play to his little Englander Daily Mail types to prevent any more voters turning to nutters like UKIP. The Tory split over Europe did serious damage to Heath, Major and most wonderfully, Thatcher. Cameron would be crazy not to throw some red meat to his extremely Eurosceptic party.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said Cameron was playing "a dangerous game" and accused him of playing domestic politics.

This is what amazes me about EU cronies, they openly and unashamedly oppose democracy. Sooner we're out the better.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites