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Pro-EU campaign drafts in Ken Clarke, Danny Alexander and Mandelson Pro-EU campaign drafts in Ken Clarke, Danny Alexander and Mandelson
(about 5 hours later)
Britain’s pro-Europeans are gearing up for a possible referendum on Britain’s EU membership in 2017 by drafting in Kenneth Clarke, Peter Mandelson and Danny Alexander to act as the main figureheads of the Yes campaign. Britain’s pro-Europeans are gearing up for the possible referendum on Britain’s European Union membership by drafting in former ministers Kenneth Clarke and Peter Mandelson plus the chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, to act as the main figureheads of their campaign.
As a pan-European opinion poll found that Britain is the only country that would vote to leave the EU, Mandelson announced that the trio of current and former cabinet ministers have agreed to become joint presidents of the British Influence group. This is expected to join forces with the European Movement to form the Yes campaign if a referendum is held by the end of 2017 following a Tory general election campaign. As a pan-European opinion poll found that Britain was the only country that would vote to leave the EU, Mandelson announced that the trio had agreed to become joint presidents of the British Influence group. This is expected to join forces with the European Movement to form the pro-EU campaign if the Tories win the 2015 general election and hold an in/out referendum in 2017.
As Clarke warned that Britain has embarked on a “disastrous” debate on the EU in recent months, Mandelson said that the pro-Europeans would strengthen forces. He told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC Radio 4: “Ken Clarke and I and Danny Alexander of the Liberal Democrats have agreed to become joint presidents of the new pro-European campaign organisation British Influence, and you’ll be hearing more about that in the weeks to come. Look, one thing that has struck me about the opinion polls – just put aside this week’s snapshot – what’s struck me about the opinion polls is as the debate on Europe has grown actually more people have moved to the pro-European position.” After Clarke warned that Britain had embarked on a disastrous debate on the EU in recent months, Mandelson told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Ken Clarke and I and Danny Alexander of the Liberal Democrats have agreed to become joint presidents of the new pro-European campaign organisation British Influence, and you’ll be hearing more about that in the weeks to come.
Mandelson spoke of his new role as a poll found that Britain would vote to leave the EU by a margin of 51% to 49%. But the poll, which was conducted in 13 EU countries, found growing unease about the EU across the continent. In the Netherlands, one of the founding members of the EU, 42% of those surveyed said they would vote to leave compared with 58% who would vote to stay. More than a quarter of voters in France (29%) and Germany (27%) – the two driving forces behind the foundation of the EEC in 1957 – would vote to leave. “One thing that has struck me about the opinion polls – just put aside this week’s snapshot – [is that] as the debate on Europe has grown, actually more people have moved to the pro-European position.”
Johnny Heald, the managing director of ORB International, which conducted the poll in the UK, told the Sunday Times: “Cameron will have a big fight on his hands to win hearts and minds over staying in the EU. It is on a knife edge at the moment. On the other hand you would feel confident launching a campaign for reforms when a quarter of people across Europe think there are major problems.” The poll, conducted in Britain by ORB International and published in the Sunday Times, found that British people would vote to leave the EU by a margin of 51% to 49%.
It was conducted in 13 countries and found growing unease about the EU across the continent. In the Netherlands, one of the founding members of the EU, 42% of those surveyed said they would vote to leave compared with 58% who would vote to stay. More than a quarter of voters in France (29%) and Germany (27%) – the two driving forces behind the foundation of the EEC in 1957 – would vote to leave.
Johnny Heald, the managing director of ORB International, told the Sunday Times: “[David] Cameron will have a big fight on his hands to win hearts and minds over staying in the EU. It is on a knife edge at the moment. On the other hand, you would feel confident launching a campaign for reforms when a quarter of people across Europe think there are major problems.”
Clarke said the poll showed the need for a serious debate in Britain. Asked whether there was a danger that Britain could vote to leave the EU, he said: “There’s a real risk. Obviously we’ve got a strange air of protest around in the country and it’s time to have a serious debate.”Clarke said the poll showed the need for a serious debate in Britain. Asked whether there was a danger that Britain could vote to leave the EU, he said: “There’s a real risk. Obviously we’ve got a strange air of protest around in the country and it’s time to have a serious debate.”
The former chancellor rebuked the prime minister by suggesting that he had done little to discourage a “silly” debate on immigration that has focused on EU migration rather than illegal immigration from outside the EU. Clarke said: “I think we’ve had a rather silly debate about Europe over the last six months. In fact I think the political debate in this country over the last six months has been fairly disastrous. The former chancellor rebuked the prime minister by suggesting that he had done little to discourage a debate on immigration that has focused on EU migration rather than illegal immigration from outside the EU. Clarke said: “I think we’ve had a rather silly debate about Europe over the last six months. In fact, I think the political debate in this country over the last six months has been fairly disastrous.
“In the modern world, we have a lot of problems to face. Membership of the European Union is essential if we’re to have a proper voice in world affairs and actually have some influence on things that really matter to British citizens. You know we do need to work with Germans, French, Poles and others to decide how to handle Mr Putin, how to make a European contribution to the Middle East crisis which is so dangerous to us all ... We will diminish this country if we have a silly debate about Europe – which is, with great respect, largely what we’re having so far as the general public debate about Europe is concerned at the moment – and run the risk of pulling ourselves off into isolation of I don’t know what kind.”“In the modern world, we have a lot of problems to face. Membership of the European Union is essential if we’re to have a proper voice in world affairs and actually have some influence on things that really matter to British citizens. You know we do need to work with Germans, French, Poles and others to decide how to handle Mr Putin, how to make a European contribution to the Middle East crisis which is so dangerous to us all ... We will diminish this country if we have a silly debate about Europe – which is, with great respect, largely what we’re having so far as the general public debate about Europe is concerned at the moment – and run the risk of pulling ourselves off into isolation of I don’t know what kind.”