w  rd 2 the woss

It has been less than a year since the UK took to the polls and re-elected conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, and now the UK must prepare for a bigger and more controversial vote; the European Union Referendum.

 

In the early hours of Sunday morning, after a week of talks with various European Union leaders, David Cameron announced that a vote on whether the UK should leave the European Union will be held on June 23rd of this year. Without another word, both sides of the campaign took to the streets to start swinging votes their way, as there are exactly four months for each side to get there point across to voters.

 

It has been obvious that people have been expecting the referendum; it was of course one of the points David Cameron made in his party manifesto during last year’s election. During many speeches from the his campaign last year, he suggested that a UK referendum would be held at some point before 2018, however it has proved a shock to many people to learn of the election coming so soon.

The major mechanics of the referendum have not yet officially been made; it is still unclear, for example, when the opposing sides will debate each other on the issues. However, what is clear is where each political party stands.

 

Surprisingly, David Cameron has said that the Conservatives support staying within the European Union; but not surprisingly, a number of MP’s from the party have hit back saying they strongly oppose staying in. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party (the UK’s main opposition in the commons), has stuck with the argument that his party backs staying inside the EU as well, but like David Cameron, faces opposition from a number of his own MP’s. The other parties who support staying within the EU are the Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, and Plaid Cymru (the Welsh party).

 

The only party putting full support behind the Leave campaign is UKIP ( the UK Independence Party). It was what most people expected from party leader Nigel Farage, for as long as anyone can remember, Nigel Farage has been a big part of the Eurosceptic movement. Other than this, no full party has decided to back leaving, but the numbers reveal a tough road ahead.

 

In total, as declared on the Leave EU website, 531 conservatives MP’s back the campaign along with, 134 Labour MP’s, 34 Liberal Democrats, 1 SNP,  and some independent others.

 

Founded in 1953, the European Union presented a great opportunity for the residences of the continent, who were trying to shake off the memories of World War 2.  It provided free movement and free trade between the countries with it, and eventually the UK joined the Union in 1973; now, less than 50 years later, that decision may be reversed.

 

Many are calling into question what this could mean for the rest of the world and their trade with the UK. Many people are calling into question the vast chunk that will be taken out of the economy if Britain leaves the EU; it is suggested that through immigration from the EU Britain makes billions of pounds every year. With the loss of that money, many wonder what will happen to the economy and Britain’s relation with other countries.

 

It is going to be a long four months for the British people, as this will become the biggest vote for a generation. The eyes of the world will be watching, and rightly so, as the vote remains on a knife edge that could go one way, or another.