PM agrees to new wording for EU referendum

PRIME Minister David Cameron has agreed to adjust the question for 2016’s referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, following a recommendation by the Electoral Commission. 

The commission asked that the question be changed in order not to favour the pro-EU side, and ask if voters wish to remain in or leave the EU, rather than the original wording, ‘Should the UK remain a member of the EU?’

A spokesperson for the prime minster said: “We will follow the recommendation of the Electoral Commission by tabling an amendment to the bill. The government’s approach has been to follow the Electoral Commission’s advice.”

The new wording removes the chance to divide campaigns along the lines of yes and no, as happened in the Scottish independence vote. Instead, voters will tick boxes marked either ‘remain’ or ‘leave.’

The statement put out by the Electoral Commission said that while it had not found the originally proposed wording “significantly leading,” it wanted to err on the side of caution to ensure the ballot could be agreed to be legitimate by all parties.