Plan B Forum

The UK will vote on whether to remain in the EU on Thursday 23 June, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

The prime minister made his historic announcement in Downing Street after briefing the cabinet.

He said he would be campaigning to remain in a reformed EU - and described the vote as one of the biggest decisions "in our lifetimes".

Ministers immediately divided up into the leave and remain camps as the campaigns got under way in earnest.

The referendum date announcement comes after renegotiations on the UK's relationship with Europe were finalised on Friday night after intense wrangling at a two-day summit in Brussels.

The agreement, which will take effect immediately if the UK votes to remain in the EU, include changes to migrant welfare payments, safeguards for Britain's financial services and making it easier to block unwanted EU regulations.

Some Conservative MPs have announced their intention to back the prime minister. The Labour Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems are also in favour of staying in.

But many Conservatives have announced they will back the leave campaign including Mr Cameron's long-time ally, Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has previously been a Eurosceptic, has yet to declare where he stands.

According to the latest opinion polls, the British public are thought to be fairly evenly split.

Gob wrote:Here you go dales.

The key points of the deal are:

An "emergency brake" on migrants' in-work benefits for four years when there are "exceptional" levels of migration. The UK will be able to operate the brake for seven years

Child benefit for the children of EU migrants living overseas will now be paid at a rate based on the cost of living in their home country - applicable immediately for new arrivals and from 2020 for the 34,000 existing claimants

The amending of EU treaties to state explicitly that references to the requirement to seek ever-closer union "do not apply to the United Kingdom", meaning Britain "can never be forced into political integration"

The ability for the UK to enact "an emergency safeguard" to protect the City of London, to stop UK firms being forced to relocate into Europe and to ensure British businesses do not face "discrimination" for being outside the eurozone

TPFKA@W wrote:I was out but Daisy helped me get back in.

Brexit: Mayor of London Boris Johnson to campaign for UK to leave EU

(CNN)The charismatic, Conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced he's backing calls for Britain to leave the European Union.

Johnson's support for the "Vote Leave" campaign presents a serious headache for Conservative leader and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cameron has been pushing for Britain to stay in the EU, and only last week struck a deal with the bloc's leaders to give the UK "special status." He's expected to address the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, on Monday, the first day of the formal referendum campaigning period.

Britons will vote in an "in or out" referendum on June 23. Cameron argues the British economy will suffer if the country opts out.

In a 2,000-word opinion piece in the Telegraph on Sunday, Johnson said leaving was a "once-in-a-lifetime chance to vote for real change."

"This is a moment to be brave, to reach out -- not to hug the skirts of Nurse in Brussels, and refer all decisions to someone else," he wrote.

In a press conference Sunday, Johnson said his decision to defy the prime minister's view caused "a huge amount of heartache."

"The last thing I wanted was to go against David Cameron or the Government," he said.

"I will be advocating Vote Leave or whatever the team is called -- I understand there are many of them -- because I want a better deal for the people of this country, to save them money and to take back control."

Lord Jim wrote:

Brexit: Mayor of London Boris Johnson to campaign for UK to leave EU

(CNN)The charismatic, Conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced he's backing calls for Britain to leave the European Union.

Johnson's support for the "Vote Leave" campaign presents a serious headache for Conservative leader and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cameron has been pushing for Britain to stay in the EU, and only last week struck a deal with the bloc's leaders to give the UK "special status." He's expected to address the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, on Monday, the first day of the formal referendum campaigning period.

Britons will vote in an "in or out" referendum on June 23. Cameron argues the British economy will suffer if the country opts out.

In a 2,000-word opinion piece in the Telegraph on Sunday, Johnson said leaving was a "once-in-a-lifetime chance to vote for real change."

"This is a moment to be brave, to reach out -- not to hug the skirts of Nurse in Brussels, and refer all decisions to someone else," he wrote.

In a press conference Sunday, Johnson said his decision to defy the prime minister's view caused "a huge amount of heartache."

"The last thing I wanted was to go against David Cameron or the Government," he said.

"I will be advocating Vote Leave or whatever the team is called -- I understand there are many of them -- because I want a better deal for the people of this country, to save them money and to take back control."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/21/europe/br ... eu-brexit/

I think it's a safe assumption that the majority of rank-and-file Conservative voters will oppose this deal, which will leave the Tory Prime Minister in the position of having to rely on the country's political left to try and get this thing passed...

People who see past Boris' outwardly bumbling persona actually see a shrewd and intelligent political brain at work

someone who could be quite possibly the best PM since Wilson Thatcher

Gob wrote:Here you go dales.

Gob wrote:People who see past Boris' Trump's outwardly bumbling persona actually see a shrewd and intelligent political brain at work, someone who could be quite possibly the best PM since Wilson president since Reagan in years to come.

liberty wrote:

Gob wrote:Here you go dales.

Gob, you say we have a crazy system and then you all let people vote in your elections like Ireland that are not part of your country. Did I miss something? Why don’t the people of the US get to vote; we were once a colony too?

Who will be able to vote?
British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over 18 who are resident in the UK, along with UK nationals who have lived overseas for less than 15 years. Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar will also be eligible, unlike in a general election. Citizens from EU countries - apart from Ireland, Malta and Cyprus - will not get a vote.