UK EU Referendum

UK – German relations in the context of the UK’s EU referendum

I was invited to speak at DG Cambridge on 14th October about UK – German relations in the context of David Cameron’s EU referendum. Antony Carpen was kind enough to film the speech, and put it up on Youtube: There

16.10.2015 Brexit

A response to Pete North

A gentleman called Pete North has responded to my earlier blog entry with this. While Mr North thinks it fair game to describe me thus “Jon Worth, fancies himself as a bit of a political wunderkind and sees fit to

16.10.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

The more “out” of the EU the UK is, the more damage to the economy

A tweet by Sony Kapoor: https://x.com/SonyKapoor/status/655001003041927168 This is absolutely right, and let me give a little more context. If Britain were to be like Norway – inside the European Economic Area – the democratic gain for the UK is zero.

13.10.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

The “Remain” campaign needs honesty above all

A legend persists about the 1975 referendum that confirmed the UK’s continued membership of the then European Economic Community (EEC); Britain voted to stay in an economic union back then, it is often stated, but the European Union has since

12.10.2015 Brexit

Britain Stronger in Europe – horrible framing and imagery, and a message bordering on the disingenuous

So, all hail the ‘Remain’ side in the referendum campaign! Place your trust in “Britain Stronger in Europe“, the Will Straw and Stuart Rose campaign. It’s like the late-1990s “Britain in Europe“, only with more muscle, more fight, and more

09.10.2015 Brexit

For the UK, getting what it wants in the EU is not enough. It needs to feel it has won.

I’m speaking in Cambridge next week about the UK’s EU referendum and I have been reading a lot of articles about the vote to prepare. Andrew Duff’s piece for Verfassungsblog is one of the best pieces I’ve found – an

11.09.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

Stopping the UK being a brake on EU integration

Tony Blair promised to put Britain at the heart of Europe, and then failed to do it. Not only did he not take Britain into the Euro, but he also divided the EU over Iraq (preventing the development of a

08.09.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

What if Cameron actually doesn’t know what he’s doing in the referendum campaign?

After the initial shock of the Tory victory in May, and the dawning realisation that the UK’s in-or-out of the EU referendum will indeed happen, a sort of calm consensus among pro-EU contacts of mine in the UK formed in

22.05.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

Cameron’s “proper choice” in the EU referendum ought to mean there’s a third option on the ballot paper

So Cameron is in Riga, trying to charm fellow EU leaders that British exceptionalism a reformed EU is possible. News about it here. But one phrase particularly struck me from Cameron’s words – we’re going to give the people a

20.05.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

What Labour’s leadership hopefuls ought to say about the EU

So the Labour Party has another leadership election. Unlike in 2010, when I was still a Labour Party member and heavily involved in the process*, this time I have no vote (having quit Labour to join the German Grüne as

18.05.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

What precisely is this EU “red tape” that JCB speaks of?

The construction vehicles pictured above are a JCB 3CX (on the left), manufactured in Rocester, UK, and two Volvo Construction Equipment machines (on the right), a L120F and L120E, both manufactured in Arvika, Sweden. My point of course – in

17.05.2015 Brexit / UK Politics

What happens if David Cameron switches to the No side in the EU referendum?

(note: this is a counterfactual – just in case you’re reading it after October 2015!) It is Wednesday 21st November 2015, and David Cameron has called a press conference at Downing Street. With his face going rather puce, the anger