Boris Johnson calls for EU referendum to be brought forward
The Mayor of London has said that the referendum on the UK's continued membership of the European Union should be brought forward
By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor
5:50PM GMT 10 Feb 2015
David Cameron should hold an in-out referendum on Britain’s membership next year to “get it done and knock it on the head”, Boris Johnson has said.
The Mayor of London, who is currently on a visit to America, said that a vote should be held as soon as possible because “this problem is not going away”.
He said that an un-reformed Europe is bad for Britain and said that there is “huge support” for the Prime Minister’s bid to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Brussels before holding a referendum.
His comments follow reports that figures in Downing Street are exploring the possibility of holding the referendum next year.
However, there are concerns that holding the vote in 2016 will not give ministers enough time to renegotiate with Brussels.
Mr Johnson was responding to a call from John Longworth, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce, to hold the in-out referendum next year in order to end uncertainty for businesses.
The Mayor of London told LBC Radio: “That’s not a bad idea by the way. Let’s get it done and knock it on the head and do it for the good of Europe. This problem is not going away. The whole Eurozone is mired in low growth, low productivity, they have a very anti-competitive environment there, a terrible system of regulation coming from Brussels.
“We have huge support in Britain for a Conservative-led campaign to reform the EU and get some change.”
More:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11403933/Boris-Johnson-calls-for-EU-referendum-to-be-brought-forward.html