EU UK Referendum

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EU referendum: 25 Tory rebels plot to vote down Queen's Speech as Labour MP caught calling voter 'horrible racist' on campaign trail.


I Thought that I would start a thread on the EU Referendum...and that this maybe a good article to start with..



No 10 behind 'vicious briefings' against Brexit campaigners
Downing Street 'considered calling police' over leaked EU letter
Cameron faces anger for failing to introduce Sovereignty Bill
Labour MP calls a voter a 'horrible racist'
Former New York mayor warns against Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn launches new business initiative


Labour MP calls a voter a 'horrible racist'

Pat Glass, Labour's shadow Europe minister has apologised after describing a voter she met in Sawley, Derbyshire this morning as a "horrible racist".

According to Radio Derby, she also vowed to boycott his neighbourhood, describing it as "wherever this is".

Ms Glass said later: "The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them.

"Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and it's important that politicians engage with them.

"I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused."

Tory MP Maggie Throup, whose Erewash constituency includes Sawley, said the Labour frontbencher "needs to understand that the EU referendum is a highly emotive subject with passionate views on each side of the debate".

Jeremy Corbyn arrives at the Senate House with Pat Glass
Jeremy Corbyn arrives at the Senate House with Pat Glass CREDIT: MARK THOMAS / I-IMAGES
Eurosceptic Tories lead Common's rebellion



More than 25 Eurosceptic Tories will lead a rebellion which could lead to the first Government defeat on a Queen's Speech since 1924.

Jeremy Cobyn has confirmed Labour will join forces with the Conservative MPs and the SNP in supporting an amendment to explicitly protect the National Health Service from an EU trade deal with the US.

It follows claims that the deal, called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, could lead to the privatisation of parts of the NHS.

The amendment expresses regret that "a Bill to protect the National Health Service from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was not included in the Gracious Speech."

The last time a Queen's Speech amendment was successful was in 1924, when Labour tabled a motion of no confidence in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative Government.

The motion was passed by 328 votes to 251, forcing Mr Baldwin to resign as Prime Minister and Ramsay MacDonald subsequently formed the first Labour Government. 


The Queen and Duke Edinburgh
The Queen and Duke Edinburgh CREDIT: STEPHEN LOCK / I-IMAGES
No 10 behind 'vicious briefings' against Brexit campaigners

Downing Street is behind "vicious briefings" against the campaign to leave the European Union,  a eurosceptic Conservative MP has claimed.

In an article for the ConservativeHome website, Steve Baker, the co-chairman of Conservatives for Britain, hits out at the "petty tabloid smears" against those campaigning to leave the EU.

Calling for an end to "personal nastiness", he also warns of "deep divisions" in the Party.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "We don't accept Steve Baker's article.

"All our arguments are rooted in the thought that we are stronger, safer and better off in the EU."



Union Jack flags fly in front of The Houses of Parliament
Union Jack flags fly in front of The Houses of Parliament CREDIT: JASON ALDEN/BLOOMBERG
Downing Street 'considered calling police' over leaked EU letter

Downing Street reportedly considered involving the police over the leaking of a letter from Rupert Soames, chief executive officer of outsourcing company Serco, to the Prime Minister.

David Cameron is facing intense pressure from within Tory ranks over "shocking" claims he misled parliament following a "stitch-up" with big business over EU referendum campaigning.

In a leaked letter from February, seen by the Daily Mail,  at a time when Mr Cameron said he would "rule nothing out" if he did not secure his desired changes - the head of a multi-national company raises the idea of "how to mobilise corporates" about the risks of leaving the EU.

A Whitehall source told The Times: "It was a letter about prisons. Draw your own conclusions."

Another added: "They were considering calling the police, though they were hoping that it wouldn't come to that and that the Queen's Speech would distract from it."



Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron CREDIT: FRANK AUGSTEIN/PA


4:37pm
What are the Tory rebels doing?
More than 25 eurosceptic Tory rebels have joined forces with Labour and tabled an amendment to the Queen's Speech.

They have tabled a motion stating that the NHS should be explicitly protected from an EU trade deal with the US.

The amendment expresses regret that "a Bill to protect the National Health Service from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was not included in the Gracious Speech."


The NHS
The NHS CREDIT: DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA
What are they concerned about? The MPs fear that the deal will lead to the privatisation of the NHS by paving the way for US healthcare providers in the UK.

Ministers that the NHS will not be affected by the historic trade deal, but Tory MPs are fear it will give US healthcare companies grounds to sue the Government. Why does this matter?

The last time a Queen's Speech amendment was successful was in 1924, when Labour tabled a motion of no confidence in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative Government.



Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace
Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace CREDIT: DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA
The motion was passed by 328 votes to 251, forcing Mr Baldwin to resign as Prime Minister and Ramsay MacDonald subsequently formed the first Labour Government.

Parliament's website states: "If the Queen's Speech is amended, the Prime Minister will have to resign."

The Conservative rebels already have the support of Labour, and are likely to garner the support of the SNP.

So will David Cameron have to quit? Probably not.


British Prime Minister David Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron CREDIT: REUTERS/WILL OLIVER
He may have to take the unusual step of supporting the rebel amendment, given that the Government does not think that the trade deal will affect the NHS anyway.

There are also suggestions that under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, a successful amendment to the Queen's Speech is no longer regarded as a vote of no confidence in the Government.

However, enough ambiguity remains for the rebels to give the Prime Minister a constitutional headache.

Report from Steven Swinford

4:02pm
Conservative MP condemns 'horrible racist' comments
Tory MP Maggie Throup, whose Erewash constituency includes Sawley, said the Labour frontbencher "needs to understand that the EU referendum is a highly emotive subject with passionate views on each side of the debate".

"Her comments echo those of Gordon Brown's during the ill-fated Labour general election campaign in 2010, and clearly demonstrate just how out of touch Labour still are with a large proportion of British people."

She called on the shadow Europe minister "to make a full apology to my constituent at the earliest opportunity" and to return to the area "to see for herself just how great a place it is to live, work and raise a family".

Maggie Throup MP
Maggie Throup MP
4:01pm
Alan Johnson: Boris Johnson's Hitler comments 'insulting'
He told BBC Radio London: "I don't think Boris is funny anymore when he does things like that... Poland lost a sixth of its population in the Second World War - six million people.

"And for them to hear Boris Johnson comparing the EU - that they're a very important participant in - as being like Hitler is just beyond insult."

2:48pm
Frank Field MP supports Tory rebels
The Labour veteran says: We can't have kangaroo courts, operating only to America's advantage, deciding how we should trade in respect of the NHS."

Frank Field MP
Frank Field MP
2:28pm
MP apologises for calling voter a 'horrible racist'
Pat Glass said MP: "The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them.

"Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and it's important that politicians engage with them.

"I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused."





http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/19/downing-street-accused-of-vicious-briefings-against-brexit-campa/?ref=yfp

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The reasons the Leave campaign are losing the EU referendum.






The Remain campaign has so far been endorsed by the prime minister, the chancellor, the leader of almost every opposition party, the chairman of the Bank of England, most leading economists, the vast majority of leading businesses and trade unions and the president of the United States.

The Leave campaign has so far been endorsed by one former mayor of London, a handful of disgruntled cabinet ministers, one eccentric former aide to the prime minister, the seven-times unelected leader of Ukip, and the leader of the French National Front.

To say this represents a slightly unfair fight is an understatement on an almost continental scale. In fact so spectacularly mismatched are the two campaigns, it is less surprising that the Leave campaign are losing, than the fact they are judged to still have any chance at all.



And yet if you look at the opinion polls, there is at least a reasonable chance Britain will still vote to leave the EU. Of the last 15 published polls, seven have put the Leave campaign ahead, with most online polls still showing the race neck and neck. Also cheering the Brexit campaign is the fact that most polls show Leavers are significantly more motivated. A recent British Election study of 22,000 voters across the UK found Leave edging ahead once those less likely to vote were excluded. If the Leave campaign can sufficiently motivate their supporters to the polls, there's still a decent chance Britain will head for the EU exit door.

So will that happen? Unfortunately for the Leave campaign it's looking increasingly unlikely. A series of phone polls published over the past week have shown the Remain camp with a lead of between eight and 18 points. This matters, as all the evidence from the recent local and regional elections suggests that online polls (which have so far been significantly more favourable to Brexit) have been over-representing Brexit-supporting Ukip voters.

As a result of these findings, punters are increasingly putting their money on a Remain victory. Bookies currently rate the chances of Brexit at just 22% - the same odds they offer on George Osborne becoming the next leader of the Conservative party and considerably lower odds than they offer on Donald Trump becoming the next president.

Independent analysts agree. Polling expert Matt Singh, who was almost the only forecaster to accurately predict the outcome of the last general election, suggests that Leave has just a 17% chance of winning. He currently forecasts a Remain lead of more than 12 points.

This doesn't look good for the Brexiteers. In previous referendum campaigns, voters have tended to drift towards the status quo as polling day draws nearer. So with just one month to go, victory seems to be slipping away from the Brexit campaign.

So what exactly went wrong? Here are the three main reasons the Leave campaign is losing the argument.

Narrowness of support

One of the biggest weaknesses for the Leave campaign is the impression that it is the cause of a narrow and very right-wing slice of the electorate. The leading politicians in the Brexit campaign are almost all either right-wing Tory or Ukip politicians. Throw in the support of Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump and Leave increasingly looks like a campaign run entirely by right-wing ideologues. So far the most well known left-wing member of the campaign that Leave have managed to recruit, is a man who recently won just one per cent of votes in the London mayoral election.


This isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. If every single Conservative voter in the country was joined by every single Ukip voter in voting Leave, then they would probably win. But the most recent polls suggest that while initially heavily eurosceptic, Conservative voters are increasingly leaning towards Remain. If Leave still has any chance of winning then they need to either dramatically turn that around, or reach out beyond their comfort zone of Ukippers and Ukip-leaning Tories. So far they are doing neither.

Narrowness of message

Polls suggest that dissatisfaction with immigration is the biggest motivator for those wanting to leave the EU. So naturally the Leave campaign is increasingly concentrating on that message. But while this clearly has the potential to maximise the Leave campaign's core vote it also risks putting a limit on the breadth of their support. While scaring voters about millions of Turkish criminals about to storm the English channel may help motivate those already leaning towards Brexit, it also puts off exactly the sort of left-leaning voters the Brexit campaign needs to convince in order to get over the 50% it needs to win.

Hitting your pocket

More than anything else, the Leave campaign's failure to win the economic argument explains why they are losing this referendum. Research suggests that economic arguments are the decisive factor in referendum campaigns. A study earlier this year by YouGov and the political scientist Philip Cowley found that telling voters they will be better or worse off by as little as £10 a week, was enough to alter the outcome of both the Scottish referendum and the upcoming EU referendum. Interestingly, the actual amount of theoretical monetary loss or gain made little difference. All that mattered was the idea that voting one way or another would hit voters' pockets.

The Remain campaign knows this, which is why they have been relentlessly pushing the message that Brexit will cause a recession, decrease house prices, increase food prices and possibly cause you to lose your job. The Brexit campaign have responded to these claims by variously mocking them, questioning their accuracy or even at one point suggesting that such costs were "a price worth paying."

All of this misses the point. For most voters, it doesn't really matter whether Brexit will cost them a tenner a week or £5,000 a year. As long as the consensus view is that leaving the EU will hit their pockets, then a majority of voters will vote to stay in. Simply banging on about abstract notions of 'sovereighnty', or EU regulations on banana bunches, simply won't make any difference. All that matters is the economic argument. Unless the Leave campaign can win that debate, they are doomed to lose.

Can Leave still win?

For this reason, the Leave campaign's claim that EU membership costs the UK £350 million is probably their best card in this referendum. The fact that the figure doesn't take into account either the UK's rebate, or the money received back from the EU, or the wider economic benefits from being a member, doesn't really matter. For most voters £350m sounds like a lot of money and Remain campaigners have always sounded at their weakest when trying to defend it.

There is also still an outside chance that Europe could descend into a new migration crisis within the next few weeks, which in turn could tip the scales towards Brexit. A horrific Paris-style terror attack on UK soil is one other event that could potentially cause a lot of voters to want to raise the drawbridge.

However, as things stand the referendum is the Remain campaign's to lose. So far there's little reason to believe they're going to lose it.

Adam Bienkov is the deputy editor of Politics.co.uk


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/the-reasons-the-leave-campaign-are-losing-the-eu-125442909.html

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BREXIT WOULD PLUNGE U.K. INTO YEAR-LONG RECESSION WARNS TREASURY

[img]http://d.europe.newsweek.com/en/full/57382/george-osborne.jpg?w=704/img]


Leaving the European Union would tip the U.K. into a year-long recession and lower Britain's economic growth by 3.6 percent, according to Treasury analysis.

The country would suffer an "immediate and profound" economic shock of its own making, Chancellor George Osborne, who released the study, warned.

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But Vote Leave's Iain Duncan Smith said people would not believe the Treasury's "deeply biased view of the future."

It comes one month before the vote on Britain's EU membership on June 23.

The Treasury's economic forecasts of the two years following a vote to leave predicts Gross Domestic Product would drop by 3.6 percent and push the economy into recession.

There would also be a sharp rise in inflation and house price growth would be hit by 10 percent, it claimed.

http://europe.newsweek.com/brexit-vote-leave-would-plunge-uk-year-long-recession-462406?rm=eu

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Brexit 2016: How staying in EU will affect holiday costs

Brexit 2016: How staying in the EU will affect the cost of holidays.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/brexit-2016-staying-eu-affect-154637068.html

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Tenants hit hard as rents reach record high

Tenants are being hit by record-high rents and the added cost of the Government's stamp duty rise on buy-to-let properties, a report has found.
Rents rose at their fastest rate for six months in April, hitting an average of £793 across England and Wales, according to the latest Buy-to-Let index.
The study from Your Move and Reeds Rains means tenants have seen an increase of 0.3% month-on-month, while rents are also 2.4% higher compared to the same point last year.
The average tenant is now paying an extra £19 a month, with rents reaching all-time highs in the East of England, the West Midlands and the East Midlands, the research revealed.
[READ: London pad covered in 'swimming pool' tiles costs £900 a month]
It added that the average landlord in England and Wales saw total returns of 10.7% in the year to April when taking into account rental income and capital growth.
Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: "Anyone looking for a home to rent may now find the better deals of the winter months are over. Landlords are seeing renewed interest and competition between potential tenants, as the spring rental market accelerates.
"Some of the reasons for rent rises are extremely encouraging. Tenants looking to find a property to rent are more likely to be in work, getting pay rises, and feeling able to pay their other bills. These wider economic fundamentals are shifting on the side of healthier household finances.
"But very little has changed in terms of the supply of homes to let. So for many tenants, it's likely that a large proportion of any earnings growth is swallowed up by higher rents."
The report also said that some tenants could  face higher bills as landlords pass on the cost of the stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let properties, which came into force on April 1.
[SLIDESHOW: Oliver Reed's English mansion on sale for £4,950,000]
Mr Gill added: "And the Government hasn't helped by imposing an extra bill that someone will have to pay on top of this - in the form of the recent stamp duty surcharge.
"To a large extent it's likely that penalty will be shouldered by those tenants looking for homes to rent, due only to the fundamentals of supply and demand in the British housing market."
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "This Government is creating a bigger and better private rented sector, which meets the needs of tenants and landlords, while encouraging record investment.
"The vast majority of tenants across the country are seeing their rents remain stable, and are happy with the service they receive from landlords.
"We are doing all of this without the need for excessive state regulation that would destroy investment in new housing, push up prices and make it far harder for people to find a flat or house to rent."

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/tenants-hit-hard-rents-reach-230101878.html

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EU Referendum: Tories in revolt as David Cameron suggests vote to leave EU is 'immoral'

Britain faces a 'recession of its own making'
Sajid Javid 'privately backs Brexit'
Brexit would be 'very dangerous' for the NHS
David Cameron's former adviser Steve Hilton backs Brexit
Brexit MP accuses Vote Leave of 'cynical distortion'
Conservative Party may have 'mis-declared' expenses
Latest: Tories in revolt as PM suggests vote to leave EU is "immoral"

David Cameron suggested that voting for Brexit was immoral, Christopher Hope and Ben Riley-Smith report.

The Prime Minister faced a backlash from members of his own Government, including threats of resignations, after he gave warning that leaving the European Union would be the "self-destruct option" for Britain, and that the "moral case" at the referendum was to stay in the EU.

Mr Cameron was speaking as the Treasury published an analysis warning that a British exit from the EU would plunge the country into a year-long recession and cost as many as 820,000 jobs in just two years.

The report was criticised by leading Tory Eurosceptics such as Boris Johnson, who said it was a "hoax", and the former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith, who said it was "not an honest assessment but a deeply biased view of the future".

David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne deliver a speech on the potential economic impact to the UK on leaving the EU at a B&Q Store Support Office
David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne deliver a speech on the potential economic impact to the UK on leaving the EU at a B&Q Store Support Office  CREDIT: 2016 GETTY IMAGES
Think tanks such as Oxford Economics and Open Europe were also critical, while rumours swept Westminster that two members of the Government – a junior minister and a ministerial aide – were threatening to resign in protest.

The Treasury document said that in the worst case scenario GDP will fall by 6 per cent, house prices by 18 per cent and the deficit will rise by £39?billion. The pound would drop 15 per cent.

Speaking at the head office of B&Q in Hampshire, Mr Cameron said that, given these risks to the British economy, a Remain vote was the "moral" choice for voters.

He said: "The economic case is the moral case – for keeping parents in work, firms in business, Britain in credit, the moral case for providing economic opportunity rather than unemployment for the next generation.

"Where is the morality for putting that at risk for some unknown end? It would be like surviving a fall then running straight back to the cliff edge. It is the self-destruct option."

George Osborne delivers speech on remaining in the EU at  B&Q Headquarters in Eastleigh
George Osborne delivers speech on remaining in the EU at  B&Q Headquarters in Eastleigh CREDIT:  JULIAN SIMMONDS
Mr Osborne, standing next to the Prime Minister, took direct aim at senior Tory Brexiteers for allowing less well-off voters to take the hit of Britain leaving the EU.

He said: "To those fellow politicians who say we should vote to leave I'd say this: you might think the economic shock is a price worth paying.

"But it's not your wages that will be hit, it's not your livelihoods that will go, it's not you who'll struggle to pay the bills. It's the working people of Britain who will pay the price if we leave the EU."

Mr Johnson, the former mayor of London, said during a tour of Yorkshire that there was a danger the pair's "scaremongering" could itself help plunge the economy into recession.

He said the warnings were "totally made up" and there was "no evidence whatsoever" the economy would fall into recession if the country left the EU.

He added: "I am worried that they are starting to talk Britain down quite significantly. I don't think it's necessary."  Tory members of the Government were also critical. One ministerial aide said: "I can't think of a time when a Chancellor and a Prime Minister have actively talked down the economy.

"It is deeply irresponsible to talk down the British economy in this way and it is incredible to me what these people will do to save their careers."  Another added: "The problem going forward is how on earth can these people be believed ever again?

Boris Johnson campaigning for 'Vote Leave' ahead of the EU referendum
Boris Johnson campaigning for 'Vote Leave' ahead of the EU referendum CREDIT: BEN STEVENS / I-IMAGES
"I think it is impossible, absolutely impossible that David Cameron can reunite the party after this. The idea that he can bounce into the next 1922 [Committee] meeting after the referendum and say, 'Chaps well it was a fair fight let's move on'. It was not a fair fight – you behaved absolutely terribly."

The disquiet within the Tory leadership ranks emerged as a former minister claimed a Brexit would put research and development facilities at risk of shutting down.

David Willetts, the former universities and science minister, also said research aimed at finding cures for diseases such as Ebola would be at risk because restriction on movement will mean less co-operation in British labs.

On June 23, 2016 Great Britain will hold a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom will remain within the European Union,
On June 23, 2016 Great Britain will hold a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom will remain within the European Union, CREDIT: PHILIPPE HUGUEN
There are already signs that leading academics from abroad are not taking up posts at British universities until they know the results of the referendum next month.  Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Baron Willetts said cutting ties with the rest of Europe will make it more expensive for Britain to take part in collaborative research.

Ahead of a debate on the influence of the EU on British education, he said: "The argument has been focused too far on the financial returns, though it is true we get more back from the EU research budget that we put in because of the quality of our university research but I see it above all about free movement of students and academics.

He said the position of international companies that have research and development units in the UK, such as Siemens, would be compromised because "the flow of investment in and out of the UK" would be at risk. Asked if that meant some facilities would shut down, he said: "That would be a risk."  He highlighted the European Bio-informatics Institute outside Cambridge and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy near Oxford as two research centres that would suffer after a Brexit.



Cameron and Osborne attacked over 'propaganda filled' Brexit report

More than 800,000 people could lose their jobs because of the "severe" economic shock of a Brexit, the Treasury has said as it warned that Britain will face a recession as deep as it did in the early 1990s.

Today both the Prime Minister and Chancellor claimed Britain will be plunged into a recession "of its own making" if the country votes for Brexit.

Responding to the report Boris Johnson accused the government of putting out more "propaganda than we have seen" at any time since 1992.

Osborne: Does Britain really want this 'DIY recession?'Play! 01:31
The Treasury said that in the worst case scenario GDP will fall by 6 per cent, house prices by 18 per cent and the deficit will rise by £39billion. The value of the pound, the Treasury says, will fall by 15 per cent.

Eurosceptic MPs have reacted furiously to the report.

Tory MP and Leave campaigner Bernard Jenkin said: "Does not the Government's entire campaign just reinforce the unfortunate impression that today's political leaders will say anything they think will help them get what they want, whether it is true or not?

"Do you not realise that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister are contributing to cynicism about politics, in the sense that voters should not trust their rulers but should make their own choice and their own judgment?"

David Cameron and George Osborne
David Cameron and George Osborne
Sajid Javid rejects claim he 'privately backs Brexit' 

Sajid Javid was forced to deny he secretly supports Britain leaving the EU, after Ian Duncan Smith claimed he privately told colleagues he backs Brexit.

The Business Secretary, who has voiced strong Eurosceptic views in the past, dismissed the allegation as "simply not true".

It came as George Osborne intensified his attack on members of his own Cabinet, accusing them of ignoring the impact on "working people".

Mr Duncan Smith said he was "disappointed" with Mr Javid, who infuriated both eurosceptic and eurohpile colleagues by flirting with Brexit before choosing to join the Remain campaign.

IDS outraged after Chancellor 'fiddled' with Treasury reportPlay! 01:46
Mr Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm deeply disappointed in him, having privately said how much he wanted the UK to leave the European Union he is now on defending this terrible report."

Asked to clarify whether Mr Javid had privately told Duncan Smith that he wanted Britain to leave the EU, he said: "He has."

The comments were instantly rejected by Mr Javid and a Whitehall source hit back: "This is simply not true. Sajid has said no such thing in private or in public."

Mr Javid, who has described himself as a "Brussels basher", last year claimed that the "costs outweigh benefits" when it comes to EU membership.

Sajid Javid, U.K. business secretary
Sajid Javid, U.K. business secretary CREDIT: SIMON DAWSON/BLOOMBERG
David Cameron's former adviser Steve Hilton backs Brexit

David Cameron has slapped down the decision by his friend and former Number 10 strategy chief Steve Hilton to back Brexit.

Steve Hilton, one of David Cameron's oldest advisers, is at odds with the Prime Minister over the EU referendum.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he criticised the bloc's bureaucracy and said it was "anti-enterprise", "anti-market" and "anti-trade" and removed control from the Government because of the constraints it imposed on everything from employment law to family policy.

Steve Hilton has said he backs Brexit
Steve Hilton has said he backs Brexit
Asked if he was "personally offended or disappointed" by Mr Hilton's comments in the Daily Mail and whether they had damaged their relationship, Mr Cameron said: "The thing about a referendum is that everybody gets a vote. You only get one each but everybody has a vote.

"Everybody is entitled to their opinions. What we are talking about today is not the opinion of this person or that person but actually the weight of evidence.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/23/eu-referendum-david-cameron-and-george-osborne-warn-brexit-would/?ref=yfp

[astr0144]

The days finally arrived for Brits to cast their votes to leave or to  stay in the EU..

Lord Monton talks about how he views the issues and says Britain should leave as the Globalists real agenda is to try to make a type of one World Government...and that Britain has a chance to get out and set an example...

Also if they stay in..any votes to do most things will be based on 27 other voters and sometimes only one has to disagree to prevent a agenda that Britain may have believed that the majority may have wanted..

He also believes that Cameron although saying about the 27 other countries that MAY say this or that... is no guarantee..say on decisions like on Turkey..

Immigration is  a main issue and he says that the only way to control it is to be our own countries decisions rather than relying on 27 other countries deciding..on Britain's behalf..

It does NOT however guarantee that who ever maybe in Power even if Britain leave the EU that they may still not place restrictions on Immigration..

so is that a real reason to make such a consideration ?


BREXIT: Independence Day for Britain?

Will June 23 be Britain's 4th of July? The vote on whether Britain will leave the European Union will be held Thursday. Lord Monckton explains why BREXIT is part of the movement against globalist efforts to eradicate democracies worldwide.




How the UK could remain in the EU even if it votes to leave

If Britain votes to leave the EU on Thursday, it'll be final. Irreversible. Irrevocable. No appeals. No second chances.
"Out is out," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters Wednesday.
"You can't jump out of the airplane and then clamber back into the cockpit," is how British Prime Minister David Cameron put it in a radio interview a few hours earlier.
But what if a vote to leave weren't really that final or dramatic? Some experts are wondering whether Britain can ever really free itself from the European Union — even if voters strongly endorse hitting the eject button. Others say it's not out of the question that Brits could find themselves going back to the ballot box in a few years' time if buyer's remorse sets in.
"The EU is a bit like the Hotel California in the Eagles song," said Tim Oliver, a fellow at the London School of Economics' IDEAS foreign policy think tank. "You can check out anytime but you never really leave."
Much of the uncertainty stems from the ambiguity about what a British exit, or Brexit, really means. Abandoning Europe could mean anything from a sweeping withdrawal from EU institutions to more limited opt-outs which could leave major pillars of European integration, such as free movement of labor, untouched.
"'Leave' could mean a million different things," Oliver said, giving Britain's political establishment considerable scope to loiter in Europe's lobby as euroskeptics argue over where the exits are.
Experts say there might be even more room for maneuver in the months and years following an "out" vote.
In theory, a two-year countdown goes into effect after a European country formally notifies its partners of its intention to quit the union, but complex international negotiations routinely run on for years and the parties involved could let the deadline lapse as talks drag on, perhaps even past Britain's 2020 parliamentary elections.
What if voters' minds change between now and then? And even if the negotiations over Britain's departure were concluded on time, what would happen if the U.K. were presented with unfavorable terms?
One expert said he could envisage a last-chance referendum asking Brits whether they still wanted to leave the EU under those conditions.
"It is at least legally possible and it might create the political space for a government to back out of an exit," said Gavin Barrett, an expert on European constitutional law at University College Dublin. "I think a case could be made for a second referendum asking, 'Do you really want this?'"
The let's-vote-on-this-one-more-time maneuver has helped bail out the European project before, albeit under different circumstances. After Irish voters rejected EU reforms in 2008, politicians in Dublin won modest concessions from their European counterparts and ran the vote again the following year, this time with a positive outcome. Similar EU referendum do-overs turned an Irish "No" into a "Yes" in 2002 and helped secured a Danish "Ja" in 1993.
But the path to a second referendum in Britain is far narrower, in part because — unlike in Ireland — the political establishment is split over Europe. If leading euroskeptic Boris Johnson takes the reins of the ruling Conservative Party following a vote to leave the EU, the prospect of a final vote will fade further still.
Alan Renwick, the deputy director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, said a do-over would only be plausible "if a party wins the 2020 election on a platform of having a second referendum and trying to go back in."
That seems unlikely given the current political alignment, but he said nothing is completely out of the question when it comes to a potential Brexit.
"You have so many possible long shot scenarios," he said. "If you add up the probabilities of all of them, you end up with a significant chance of something surprising happening, whatever that might be."

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-could-remain-eu-even-votes-leave-194317076--finance.html



Britain votes on EU membership after tight and bitter campaign

Britons were voting on Thursday to decide the future of their country and Europe in a referendum on European Union membership that has divided the nation and is being nervously watched by financial markets and politicians across the world.

Opinion polls taken before the vote indicated the outcome is far too close to forecast.

Prime Minister David Cameron called the vote under pressure from his ruling Conservative Party and an increasingly powerful anti-EU party, hoping to put to rest decades of debate over Britain's place in Europe and its ties with Brussels.

Most polls put the "Leave" and "Remain" camps neck-and-neck at the end of a campaign that was dominated by immigration and the economy, and shaken by the murder of a pro-EU MP, though late on Wednesday two showed a swing to "Remain".

The "Leave" campaign says Britain's economy would benefit from a Brexit, or British exit from the EU. Cameron says it would cause financial chaos.

Traders, investors and companies are preparing for volatility on financial markets whatever the outcome of a vote that both reflects, and has fuelled, an anti-establishment mood also seen in the United States and elsewhere in Europe.

Finance leaders from the Group of Seven leading economies will issue a statement stressing their readiness to take all necessary steps to calm markets if Britain votes to leave, government officials with direct knowledge of the preparations said.

Britain's AAA credit rating could be swiftly downgraded by Standard and Poor's after a vote in favour of leaving the EU, S&P chief sovereign ratings officer Moritz Kraemer told German daily newspaper Bild. {nL8N19E52V]

Much will depend on turnout, with younger Britons seen as more supportive of the EU than their elders but less likely to vote.

"Go out and vote remain for a bigger, better Britain inside a reformed European Union," Cameron told "Remain" campaigners on Wednesday.

His main rival, former London mayor Boris Johnson, whose decision to support "Leave" galvanised its campaign, told voters this was the "last chance to sort this out".

Sterling rose to its highest so far this year against the U.S. dollar late on Wednesday after one poll pointed to a clear lead for "Remain" and betting markets priced in an 80 percent chance Britain would not leave.

Polling stations for 382 local counting areas opened at 0600 GMT and close at 2100, with most of the results expected between around 0100 and 0300 on June 24.

On Wednesday, campaigners from both sides tried to win over the estimated 10 percent of the 46.5 million electorate who polls suggest had still not decided how to vote.

The "In" campaign took aim at their rivals by saying a Brexit would hurt the economy, security and the country's status. The "Out" campaign said high levels of immigration could not be controlled inside the EU and it was time to bring powers back from Brussels to London.

"If we don't vote to leave tomorrow we will remain locked in the back of the car, driven in an uncertain direction, frankly, to a place we don't want to go and perhaps by a driver who doesn't speak the very best of English," said Johnson, a leading candidate to replace Cameron as prime minister.

FOREIGN LEADERS

The killing of lawmaker Jo Cox last week as she prepared to offer advice to those who elected her in northern England, prompted a pause in the campaign and soul-searching about its tone. Her husband said she had been concerned about the coarsening of political dialogue.

The man charged with her murder, asked his name in a London court, responded: "My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain".

Opinion polls have depicted a deeply divided nation, with big differences between older and younger voters, and between pro-EU London and Scotland, and eurosceptic Middle England.

That split was reflected in British newspapers' front pages. "Independence Day" was the front page headline of the Sun tabloid, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, while the Daily Mirror warned "Don't take a leap into the dark".

The issue dominated the news far beyond Britain. In China, the Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, warned Britain would lose its influence globally if voters backed a so-called Brexit.

Whatever the outcome of the vote, the focus on immigration to Britain, which has increased significantly in recent years, could worsen divisions in a country where the gap between rich and poor has also been widening.

If Britain chooses to leave, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has suggested Scotland may call a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom.

Even with a vote to stay, Cameron could struggle to repair the rifts in his party and hold on to his job.

Foreign leaders, from U.S. President Barack Obama to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, have called on Britain to remain in the EU, a message supported by global financial organisations, many company bosses and central bankers.

International banks have warned that the value of the pound could fall dramatically if Britain votes to leave the EU and traders expect markets to be more volatile than at any time since the 2008-09 financial crisis.

The "Out" campaign says a fall in the value of the pound would boost exports and has found support among some financial specialists and small businesses. It has urged voters to ignore what it calls the "establishment" which it says has the most to lose from Brexit.

The EU has struggled with migrant and economic crisis and a Brexit vote would boost opposition to it within other member states.

"Stay with us," European Council President Donald Tusk said in Lisbon on Monday, addressing British voters.

"Without you, not only Europe, but the whole Western community will become weaker. Together, we will be able to cope with increasingly difficult challenges of the future."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/britain-votes-eu-membership-tight-bitter-campaign-010440800.html



EU Referendum: What Will Happen After The Result?

The result of tomorrow's EU referendum vote is balancing on a knife edge - but one thing we can be sure of is that there will be major ramifications - no matter the outcome.

With Brexiters and Remainers locked in a bitter battle, there has already been political fallouts and open civil war within the parties.

A pro-Brexit vote would provoke the biggest shockwave of changes, with the 24 hours after polling becoming known as Black Friday, or Independence Day, depending on how the decision is viewed.

But what is likely to happen on Friday if either side wins?

* The first reactions will come from the international money markets where the pound is expected to slump on the news of a move to withdraw, and rally on a Remain win.

The pro-Brexit side has already signalled they expect a short-term financial hit, with former London mayor Boris Johnson insisting the pound naturally fluctuates. However, billionaire currency speculator George Soros warns the impact will be bigger than 1992's crash.

View photos
Uncertainty: Boris Johnson insists that the pound will naturally fluctuate after a Brexit vote (Rex)

* The outcome of the vote will be the defining moment of David Cameron's premiership. Publicly, both sides insist he should stay on as PM after a Leave vote, but this is seen as politically unrealistic by many observers.

If Britain rejects the Government's view that the country should stay in the EU, Mr Cameron will probably not go immediately, but announce a slow-motion resignation which would see him hand over power in the autumn.

If the Remain side wins, the Prime Minister faces the likelihood of a vote of no confidence as pro-Brexit Tory MPs should be able to command the 50 signatures needed to trigger such a move.

If Mr Cameron lost such a vote, he could still then put his name forward to be one of the two candidates chosen by Conservative MPs to face each other in a vote by the party membership nationwide.

View photos
Forced out? David Cameron may not be Prime Minister for long, regardless of the outcome (Rex)

Mr Johnson and Justice Secretary Michael Gove have both repeatedly denied they have ambitions to replace Mr Cameron as Prime Minister, but they would be well placed for any leadership bid.

* A major overhaul of Cabinet would follow either outcome of the referendum as the Tories try to heal the deep wounds created by an intensely bitter and personalised "blue on blue" campaign.

Mr Johnson is almost certain to enter Cabinet, while Mr Gove has been spoken of as a deputy prime minister in a post-Remain government.

However, the formerly cast iron position of George Osborne looks uncertain as many pro-Brexit MPs privately insist he cannot stay Chancellor after the way he has used Treasury figures to attack their cause.

View photos
Brexiteer: Michael Gove may play a bigger role in government after the vote (Rex)

* A Leave vote could also provoke a major backlash against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn from MPs who feel he led a lacklustre effort to keep Britain in the EU.

* A pro-Brexit Britain would formally trigger withdrawal from the EU by invoking article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which would then lead to a two-year negotiation period on the terms of the "divorce", but pro-Leave campaigners say this does not need to happen immediately as they aim to have the UK out of the bloc by the general election slated for May 2020.

* The negotiations would determine whether the UK remains part of the single market without being in the Union, as Norway currently does. However, this would mean the UK would still have to accept free movement of labour. Other options include a Canadian-style free trade deal, a Swiss-style bilateral agreement, or reverting to the basic terms of commerce offered by membership of the World Trade Organisation.

Poor effort: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's position may grow weaker on Friday (Rex)

* Remain campaigners say withdrawal would have a massive negative impact on London's global position as a financial centre, but the Leave side say it would thrive outside the EU, as it did after the UK rejected joining the Euro.

* The pro-Leave side have signalled they intend to bring in emergency legislation to try to halt an "influx" of migrants if Britain votes to quit the EU.

* The Remain camp insists prices would rise after withdrawal as tariffs are imposed. Leave supporters warn that if the UK stays in the EU it will be forced into closer integration, such as a European army.

* The truth is no one knows for sure exactly what will happen once the results are in. Asked what would happen the day after a Brexit vote, Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: "I've absolutely no idea."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/eu-referendum-what-will-happen-after-the-result-091924446.html

[funbox]

casting a vote is as futile as casting a spinner into a lake full of dead pike. casting a  patrol bomb into the polling booth , just might make a point or two

funbox

[astr0144]

Your description maybe correct Funbox ! 

Probably would be a waste of time and no idea of the overall outcome if one does vote..

But It is the possible only chance to attempt to vote out if one thinks that maybe a better solution to what we have at present !

casting a vote is as futile as casting a spinner into a lake full of dead pike. casting a  patrol bomb into the polling booth , just might make a point or two

funbox

[Pimander]

The point on immigration is that within the EU the UK has no control.

[Eighthman]

Under the EU, Britain and other nations will cease to exist.  They will become mere aggregations of people with no particular language or culture - bound only by economic interests that their stagnant austerity programs cannot meet.

If the Brits want to help world peace, dump the EU, sign up with the EEU/SCO and push for a Eurasian union , 'between Lisbon and Vladivostok'. 

[astr0144]

I think you make a valid point 8thMan...

It does seem many a Culture is disappearing on the basis of just what many may see as economic gain or greed.

It does seem much a Britain as many once new it has been slowly fading away..and it will be that the young generation wont even know what it was once like...

It maybe also depend upon ones view or past experience as to how they may view it barring economics..

But I like the idea of visiting other cultures and seeing that nation having its uniqueness..

I would not want to say visit Africa and see it taken over by Chinese  or visit China and see it overalled by a Muslim or  Black or European white race...

The other side of the coin of course is comparing Europe with the USA.. where the US is more of an overall mix of cultures..

Under the EU, Britain and other nations will cease to exist.  They will become mere aggregations of people with no particular language or culture - bound only by economic interests that their stagnant austerity programs cannot meet.

If the Brits want to help world peace, dump the EU, sign up with the EEU/SCO and push for a Eurasian union , 'between Lisbon and Vladivostok'.

[funbox]

*funbox sniffs the air , the cosmic joker tickles an mfb under the chin *

funbox

[astr0144]

It appears to be Quite a surprise to the Establishment as relatively early on after the closing of the Polls; just after midnight there were early signs that there were more Votes to leave than to remain..and thru out the night it seems to have more or less stayed that way so far..

So unless there is a last two hour or so change in sentiment by mid morning in the UK, it looks like a leave..

The US stock Market took a huge 860 point decline within a 6 to 8 hr period so far..

The Dow Jones topped around 18130 an hour before (23.15 hrs) midnight and declined to about 17277 by around 5.30 am so far....

Will it go lower come the open of the FTSE and European Markets  from 7 to 8 am ? or recover..

with the British £ Pound making new lows since 1985..

Gold up to new highs since Dec 2015 low.

There is no doubt as much as many Brits may want to leave it could have a bad impact on the not just the UK but also Europe and the World economy..

Need to see what happens after the final results.. It maybe that the market plunged upon very early expectation...and it may have bottomed out come the final results..

But the Market has JUST broken May 19th Lows... that may see a much further decline to come, if not later in the day , within the coming weeks..

But It will be interesting to see what may happen from here on.

It may hold up to the  end of the month  or / into July 4th US Holidays...


There's talk about maybe another election in the next few months. !!!

It has just been suggested on the BBC at about 5 am that there is no way now that the remain can win..

It was showing a 52 % Leave V 48% remain..

That so far was about 17.2 million Leave V 16 Million Remain..at around 7 am UK time..

It was suggested that 48% of the people / Public  did NOT vote.

Its being suggested its an INDEPENDENCE DAY for the U.K.

*funbox sniffs the air , the cosmic joker tickles an mfb under the chin *

funbox

[astr0144]

Global Elite Resort to Voter Fraud to Prevent Brexit..

Look at some of the utter crap that some of the Authorities were up to..

bringing in the Police for someone wanting to use a Pen instead of the pencils supplied at the Poll station..

What a LOAD of utter pathetic burucratic nonsense.. 


Published on 23 Jun 2016
Paul Joseph Watson discusses BREXIT and how the elite are desperately trying to hold on to Britain.

[astr0144]

Another major surprise...

Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned ! but will stay in office for a while to sort things out.

Now there is talk of Boris Johnson taking over his position who was recently the Mayor of London..


I did not know much if anything about his  past political background ..

But upon checking he was a MP for about 7 years prior to becoming Mayor..

But it  surprises me that he is being suggested to become PM.

The Weird thing is he is an American born in New York ! and his Grand Father was Turkish ancestry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson

Then what do we see is Donald Trump arriving in Scotland to his Golf Course / Hotel in the U.K early this morning just after the EU Vote had officially been Confirmed..and making a statement.

Watching the TV Coverage flicking thru all the events one after the other , all within a few hours..made it all like a staged event almost..even thou some parts seemed unexpected.

Although it all seems genuine..

I have to question could this also just another set up by the Elites...putting on a show to make the public believe..

[ArMaP]

There is no doubt as much as many Brits may want to leave it could have a bad impact on the not just the UK but also Europe and the World economy.

I have kept out of this topic because I didn't want to intrude into what most people thought was a national problem, but now that this first act is over, I will say what I have been thinking about it.

This whole Brexit idea was a selfish and cowardly idea. If things are wrong with the way the EU works, why not fight to make them right instead of abandoning the ship like rats, ignoring the consequences that may bring to those that have been, for better or worse, their partners for many years? Why run away from a problem that was partly created by the UK in the last 43 years, the years that have seen the bigger changes in the way the system works.

Also, from what I could see on Euronews (the only news channel I watch), it looks like someone "forgot" that the UK is itself an union, and this Brexit thing may also be the end of that union, as Scotland and Northern Ireland preferred to stay in the EU but are forced to leave because they are part of the UK.

As I know nothing about international (or even national) economy, I cannot really comment on that, but to me it looks like living in a global market as we all do now, this decision will have global ramifications. Some may be good, some may be bad, but I'm sure that the people that control (as much as they can) the world economy will , again, be the victors.

PS: for those that were saying that TPTB were doing anything to make the UK remain, what does this result means? Does it mean that TPTB, after all, are not all powerful, or does it mean that what they really wanted was the Brexit and people fell for it?

[astr0144]

You make some good or valid comments ArMaP..

I don't have all the answers..but I may also have consider along somethings that you suggest about had they planned to create a exit Brexit ?

and I have been considering this as a possible option during the whole lead up to it...

Are TPTB just playing their Chess Game..?

It maybe time for them to change the Arena / economy in their master plan.

Maybe creating the threat of Immigration, has made many of the Brits consider it a main concern to want to exit the EU if they believe that it will resolve it..and  believed that the EUs plan was to continue increasing it...

I do think this has become a HUGE threat as I had explained my thoughts on it  before..and created a lot more competition in the job and Housing Market etc..after we have had the 2008 economic recession..

FOR many they see it also as an insult.. being replaced by Foreign Workers..and that our own Govt did not have workers best interest..also housing and new rules  were changing British Culture..

or maybe the fact that the Govt ,now know many become more aware of what goes on via the Internet..may have some effects , more so than the Elites  had initially considered..in appearing to expose various issues more..with the parts of the failings in the EU..

or maybe they had created Alex Jones types to paint a gloomy picture of what seems to be going on..to encourage an exit in Brexit !

and maybe that they expected that a majority would vote to opt out..

sometimes it maybe that they use reverse  Psychology..

Its never easy to be sure as such things can be seen in varying ways....but I do think often the Elites think much more different to what the masses ever consider..

There is now talk other EU countries may opt out...
so we may see a chain reaction..over the next year or so..

Is it for the Worse or better ?

I AGREE that one other possibility maybe to have challenged the EU and its problems..rather than opt out..

There is always other options..

BUT it may also be very difficult to negotiate with 27 countries..and some maybe very hard to negotiate with..
or some want more control over others..Germany as an eg..

so maybe opting out if done for genuine reasons maybe a better easier option.. BUT did it have to happen so soon ?

I do think that the EU could have been good if ran the right way..
BUT Overall it appeared to have several flaws and not being done in the best interest  or right ways for certain things in favor to the UK.

IF TPTB are doing it for greed and are intending to crash the economy.. which I believe could be the case ..IF its true that they are doing it for their further gains in some other plan that they may have...

then that maybe their reasoning..

or it may just all be how its all worked out...and it maybe too hard to try to have created such a theory..and maybe the U.K just did not like the idea of many of the things that appeared to be happening..and just wanted to get out at the given opportunity..

But it is all very complex to really determine..

At the end of it all... It was NOT a Great overall majority that created the outcome ... so maybe it seems as unlikely obvious that such possible plans would work out in such a way to create an exit... if it was suggested as being a planned outcome

UNLESS the VOTES were rigged to make it look like a close outcome..and be less suspected as a planned outcome.

PS: for those that were saying that TPTB were doing anything to make the UK remain, what does this result means? Does it mean that TPTB, after all, are not all powerful, or does it mean that what they really wanted was the Brexit and people fell for it?
/quote]