Today David Cameron announced – to the surprise of no one – that the EU Referendum will be held on 23rd June. He further stunned the world by announcing he would be campaigning to remain in the EU. This followed months of painstaking negotiations over some trifling ‘reforms’ he had cobbled together. This was concluded last night after a two day summit of EU leaders. The result seems to have been that Cameron can go away and say he has secured a ‘special status’ for the UK, while all the other EU leaders laugh behind his back and go home to tell their voters that nothing of import has changed.
So that’s where we are now. No one who is campaigning to remain – including Labour, the Green Party and the Lib Dems – actually say they are happy with the current set-up of the EU. ‘Reform from within’ seems to be the mantra. But given the tortuous mess that were David Cameron’s attempts to achieve his “thin gruel” reforms (as Jacob Rees-Mogg called them), what possible hope do the likes of Labour have for achieving a single reform they want going forward? They don’t have a cat in hell’s chance.
If we vote to remain on 23rd June, the EU will consider the matter settled and push on in the same direction they have been travelling for the last 40 years – towards greater and greater integration. I don’t know how anyone could vote for that.
alittleecon 
Perhaps the fact that the left MEPs are a bigger & better coalition, and that we actually have in mind reforms that are also wanted by other countries too?
It’s a real pity when no one actually believes a word that comes out of his mouth. I’m talking about DC
Everyone can see how the EU ‘works’ and it is clear that reform from within is essentially impossible, the executive are wilfully blind to the fundamental problems. An inevitably long and drawn out process of brexit would be, IMO a far more effective catalyst for change than an endorsement for status quo.