Cameron’s last stand to prevent a Brexit
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CAMPAIGNERS on both sides of the vote on whether Britain should stay in the European Union crisscrossed the country yesterday, their last day to win support from the undecided.
Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his vision for a future with Britain retaining its place in the 28-nation bloc, bristling at the notion that the country would be headed in the wrong direction if it stayed in. He flatly rejected the charge that the institution is moribund.
“We are not shackled to a corpse,” Cameron told the BBC. “You can see the European economy’s recovery. It’s the largest single market in the world.”
The most notable figure in the “leave” campaign, former London Mayor Boris Johnson kicked off a whirlwind tour of England as he pushed for a British exit, or Brexit. Touring the Billingsgate Fish Market, Johnson mugged for the cameras with a fish — a not-so-subtle reminder that Britain is an island nation, proud of its independence.
“It’s time to have a totally new relationship with our friends and partners across the Channel,” Johnson said.
“It’s time to speak up for democracy, and hundreds of millions of people around Europe agree with us. It’s time to break away from the failing and dysfunctional EU system.”
The campaign has been unusually heated, even by the lively standards of British politics.
Nigel Farage, a “leave” campaigner and leader of the UK Independence Party, resisted fresh calls to apologize for a poster showing hundreds of migrants making their way across Europe along with the words “Breaking Point.”
The poster, labeled racist and misleading by opponents, was unveiled hours before Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was killed in a knife and gun attack outside a library in her Yorkshire constituency last week. She had been an outspoken supporter of migrants. Friends and family were planning to hold a celebration of Cox’s life in cities around the world yesterday, which would have been her 42nd birthday.
“I apologize for the timing and I apologize for the fact that it was able to be used by those who wish us harm,” said Farage. “But I can’t apologize for the truth.”
“This was a photograph that all newspapers carried, it is an example of what is wrong inside the European Union,” he said.
The reach of the EU into every aspect of life has made the issues more complex than in a general election and prompted all sorts of groups, from scientists to CEOs, to register their opinions on staying or not.
The stakes are high as the vote is final — unlike an election in which the results can be reversed in the next term. However, the vote is not legally binding, and Parliament would have to vote to repeal the law that brought Britain into the EU in the first place.
A vote to leave would invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which allows a member state to withdraw. The article has never been invoked and it would trigger a period of uncertainty during years of negotiations on the relationship between the EU and the UK.
Much of the debate has hinged on the economy. From the international banks in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to the traditional home of Britain’s financial industry in the City of London, business has largely awaited the referendum with trepidation and caution. Many fear a vote to leave would undermine London’s position as the world’s pre-eminent financial center.
The betting markets are standing by the “remain” side. The Betfair exchange said remain is a 76 percent probability.
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