Cameron targets hearts and minds over vote on EU
PM now feels Better Together was too negative
DAVID Cameron is to make an ‘emotional’ plea for the UK to remain in the EU amid concerns that last year’s Better Together campaign was too negative.
A senior Downing Street source said lessons have been learned from the independence referendum, which originally saw a relentless focus on dire warnings about the consequences of a Yes vote.
Although Mr Cameron launched a battle for the ‘heart’ later in the campaign, Better Together was saddled with the label Project Fear by opponents.
Ahead of the In/Out referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, a Number Ten insider said the Prime Minister will focus on Britain’s alliances with other European nations and the importance of the common market.
‘All referendums have to be hard-headed to some extent, but this campaign will be hearts and minds,’ the senior source said.
‘We will be reminding people we’ve been working together for peace in our time and we built the common market.’
The campaign strategy has already seen Mr Cameron choose the Yes side in the referendum battle. The question in the EU referendum will say: ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?’
That contrasts with last year’s referendum, where the status quo was the No option, with voters asked: ‘ Should Scotland be an independent country?’
Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who is expected to play a leading role in the campaign to leave the EU, has questioned why he has been put on the negative side of the argument. Earlier this week he said: ‘The pro- posed referendum question is at least simple. But how is it that Salmond got the Yes and the UK gets the No?’
Yesterday, David Coburn, Ukip MEP for Scotland, said: ‘I think it is a hard sell. I don’t think anyone in Britain has ever really loved the EU. It’s never been loved. We were conned into going into it in the first place. We were told it was a trading relationship when it was a nation state.
‘The people have never been happy with it. We were never asked if we wanted to get rid of our nation and get into it.
‘Quite frankly, if Mr Cameron’s going to make hearts and minds arguments, people don’t love it. People will decide this referen- dum on liberty and freedom of the individual, which the EU doesn’t give.
‘I only feel loyalty to Great Britain. I feel absolutely nothing for a massive corporate bureaucracy which provides employment for every European politician who managed to ruin his own country and has run out of people to fool and has been moved into a European retirement scheme.’
UK Government legislation guarantees a referendum by the end of 2017, but a precise date has not been set.
Mr Cameron, who travelled to the Continent this week, is pushing to achieve a quick deal in the hope of holding the referendum next year – before his administration suc- cumbs to the normal ‘mid-term blues’. But there are fears the contest could clash with the Scottish parliament election, which will be held next May
The SNP’s Europe spokesman, North-East Fife MP Stephen Gethins, accused the Conservatives of being ‘determined to press ahead with the wrong priorities, no matter what’.
He said: ‘SNP MPs will do all we can to stop Scotland being dragged out of the EU against our will. We will also continue to argue that the referendum should under no circumstances be held on the same day as the Scottish election next year.’
‘We were conned into going into it’