Cameron is straddling the fence of a civil war in the Conservative Party over E.U. membership. Nonetheless, as as result, the United Kingdom is one step closer to regaining the sovereignty they lost when they foolishly joined the E.U.:
(Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron faced questions about his leadership on Tuesday after he bowed to pressure from inside the ruling Conservative Party to bring forward draft legislation enforcing a referendum on Britain’s European Union membership.
Just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama cautioned against rushing towards the EU exit, Cameron was forced by a rebellion in his party into promising a bill that would pave the way for an in-out vote on Europe.
Cameron denied the move was a desperate measure to placate his increasingly restive and eurosceptic party, where many see the EU as an oppressive and wasteful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.
Very much a driving force for this has been the surge of the upstart party UKIP:
Since coming to power in a coalition government three years ago, the Conservatives have been rattled by the popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which campaigns for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU and tighter immigration laws.
A Guardian/ICM poll showed that UKIP’s support had surged to a record high of 18 percent, while support for Britain’s traditional parties had fallen by 4 percentage points each.
UKIP took a quarter of the vote in local elections this month. Unless Cameron can convince his party he can win the next election he is likely to face more challenges to his leadership.
“With the story changing every day, it’s very reminiscent of the old John Major days where, really, the government appears to be being blown around by events,” said UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
The Guardian poll put Labor on 34 percent, the Conservatives on 28 percent and the Liberal Democrats on 11 percent.
UKIP’s poll rating has climbed steadily since Cameron set out his EU strategy in January.
