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Britain faces a referendum on its membership of the EU, possibly as early as June of this year, with others wanting the vote to be held next year.
It is currently believed that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron (Conservative) will lead the 'IN' campaign (i.e. the campaign for the UK to remain a member of the EU), but on the basis that he is able to negotiate 'significant' changes to the terms of UK's membership before the referendum. The 'OUT' campaign (or should I say campaigns) are already gathering momentum, with a number of 'Eurosceptics' (including some prominent Conservatives and UKIP's Nigel Farage) backing a vote to leave the EU - nicknamed 'Brexit' (British Exit).
It is highly debatable whether the EU would survive as an entity if the UK voted to leave. The UK is already set apart from the rest of the EU as it is neither a part of the Schengen Area nor has the UK adopted the single European currency, the Euro. However, the Eurozone is still struggling to contend with major financial problems (the so-called Eurozone crisis) and is also faced with unprecedented levels of immigration from Syria, Iraq etc. that threaten to further destabilize relations within the EU.
This promises to be a fractious and divisive campaign, with huge implications for both the UK and the EU. In the wake of the recent Scottish Independence referendum (which saw Scotland vote 55%-45% to remain in the UK), a potential vote to leave the EU would be met with consternation in Scotland, since Scotland is widely perceived to be more pro-European than England... but with English votes accounting for 84% of the UK total, Scotland could find itself exiting the EU regardless of how Scottish people vote, hence possibly triggering another independence referendum. Also, Brexit could also lead to calls for referendums in a bunch of other EU countries.
It is currently not at all clear how the people of Britain will vote when push comes to shove. If PM David Cameron cannot successfully negotiate significant changes to the UK's current relationship with the EU, he will have a hard time convincing people that the UK is better off remaining a part of it. Hence, I've added an anonymous poll to this thread to gauge current opinion, so feel free to let us know how you intend to vote!
Proposed Brexit ballot paper:
Campaigns:
http://www.strongerin.co.uk/
http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/
http://leave.eu/
Explainers:
BBC guide to the EU referendum: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32810887
Polls:
FT Poll of Polls: https://ig.ft.com/sites/brexit-polling/
Economist poll tracker: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/05/britain-s-eu-referendum
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