Nigel Farage fires the starting gun for the EU referendum No campaign June 6, 2015 Nigel Farage has put himself forward as a potential leader of the No campaign in the EU referendum. While Farage’s charisma may make him seem an obvious candidate, many No supporters will see him as too polarising and unlikely to appeal strongly to moderate or undecided voters. Douglas Carswell, Ukip’s only sitting MP, said he [...]
David Cameron’s EU renegotiation must free Britain from ever closer union June 3, 2015 As the Prime Minister jets from one European capital to another, seeking support for Britain’s EU reform agenda, the issues on the table are many and varied, ranging from the benefit entitlements of immigrants to the protection of the City of London. But amid all the detail, there is one overriding issue on which the [...]
European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker says Brexit “not desired” by British June 1, 2015 Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, has claimed that Britain will not vote to leave the EU. Juncker said that was confident that a Brexit would not occur, stating that David Cameron's motives in holding a referendum were to make Britain's membership permanent. Speaking to the German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, he said: Brexit is not [...]
Why companies have a public duty to publish their Brexit risk assessments May 31, 2015 A “Top-secret taskforce” always makes for a good headline, and “news” that the Bank of England has just such a unit to look at Brexit was discussed with glee. Headline-grabbing as it may be, it would truly be far more extraordinary if the Bank (or Deutsche Bank, which made similar waves by announcing its own [...]
From Fifa and Greece to the rail strike and Queen’s Speech: Here’s what got us talking this week May 29, 2015 There was a speech. There was a protest. There were some strange-looking balloons. And rapidly receding in our memories, there was a bank holiday. Here's what got us talking this week 1. Fifa was in the news Commentators expressed but little surprise when a number of Fifa officials were arrested this week, but [...]
German business group says the UK will receive less investment if it leaves the EU May 29, 2015 The German Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said it is “astonished” that the UK is considering leaving the EU, and that an exit would be “disastrous” for both countries. Volker Treier, deputy chief executive of the group, said scores of German firms could easily end up taking back investment from the UK. The 400,000 [...]
EU reform talks: David Cameron rejects status quo during European tour May 28, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron put increased pressure on European leaders yesterday to support his EU reform agenda, saying late last night that “the status quo is not good enough.”. Speaking at a joint press conference in Paris with French President Francois Hollande, Cameron said that his proposed reforms would “address the concerns of the [...]
David Cameron goes Dutch on first leg of EU reform tour: The Netherlands is a good start as the PM looks for allies May 28, 2015 “Old friends and like-minded allies” was how David Cameron described the relationship between the UK and the Netherlands when he was in The Hague yesterday, kicking off his whistle-stop tour of visits to EU leaders to build up support for the changes he wants to made to European policy. “Like-minded” has certainly been the case [...]
David Cameron blitzes Europe as efforts are intensified to renegotiate European relationship May 28, 2015 David Cameron is travelling across European countries in an attempt to intensify his lobbying of EU leaders over his plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership. Read more: EU referendum details emerge as David Cameron begins tour to win reform support The Prime Minister has embarked on a two-day tour of four European [...]
Bills, bills, bills: EU referendum and Scotland bills go before parliament May 28, 2015 Just a day after the Queen's Speech confirmed what we knew the Tories would have to do, a bill has dropped into the House of Commons' in-tray aimed at clearing a path for the in-out vote to take place. The summary of the European Union Referendum Bill says its aim is “to make provision [...]