5/9/13, "Boris Johnson: leaving Europe a shot in the arm for democracy," UK Telegraph, Tim Ross
"British democracy would receive "a shot in the arm" if the UK left the European Union, Boris Johnson has said."
"Voters would feel they had regained control over their own destiny if Britain became fully independent from Brussels, the Mayor of London said.
Mr Johnson warned that the country must be ready to "walk away" from Europe if
David Cameron failed to negotiate better terms of membership.
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Mr Johnson's comments will fuel the increasingly fevered debate inside the Conservative
Party about European policy, which has flared after the success of Ukip in
last week's local elections.
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The Mayor's intervention, at a conference of international business leaders in
London, followed an attack from the Prime Minister on Right-wing "pessimists"
who believed Britain's relations with Europe could never change.
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Mr Cameron is under pressure from his backbench MPs to call a vote in the Commons
before the 2015 election on a Bill allowing a referendum on EU membership. ...
While Mr Cameron has said he wants Britain to remain inside the EU, Mr Johnson said quitting would not be "fatal" for Britain.
Speaking to reporters at the Global Investment Conference, Mr Johnson said he remained "narrowly in favour" of staying inside the grouping of 27 member states and supported David Cameron's policy of negotiating a new relationship for Britain in the EU.
But he added: "If that fails then yes, obviously, we should be ready to walk away," he said. "We should be ready to leave."
The public would welcome a British exit because people would feel they had won back control over their own lives from Brussels, the Mayor claimed.
"If we are honest, I think, democratically, it would be a shot in the arm because people would suddenly feel, yes, we are running our own destiny again, our politics is entirely independent, British electors can choose the people who are taking decisions that affect their lives.
"That would be a very important benefit.""...via Lucianne
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While Mr Cameron has said he wants Britain to remain inside the EU, Mr Johnson said quitting would not be "fatal" for Britain.
Speaking to reporters at the Global Investment Conference, Mr Johnson said he remained "narrowly in favour" of staying inside the grouping of 27 member states and supported David Cameron's policy of negotiating a new relationship for Britain in the EU.
But he added: "If that fails then yes, obviously, we should be ready to walk away," he said. "We should be ready to leave."
The public would welcome a British exit because people would feel they had won back control over their own lives from Brussels, the Mayor claimed.
"If we are honest, I think, democratically, it would be a shot in the arm because people would suddenly feel, yes, we are running our own destiny again, our politics is entirely independent, British electors can choose the people who are taking decisions that affect their lives.
"That would be a very important benefit.""...via Lucianne
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