Friday June 24, 2016

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Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday June 24, 2016 British PM David Cameron to step down this year in wake of EU vote Prime Minister David Cameron says he will resign by the fall and insists the British people's will must be respected after voters chose to leave the 28-nation European Union. "I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination," Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street just before 8:30 a.m. in London. Cameron, in power for six years, said he will resign by the time of the Conservative party conference in the fall. He turns 50 on Oct. 9. "I held nothing back," he said. "I was absolutely clear in my belief that Britain was stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union É but the British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path.Ó Cameron said he had spoken to Queen Elizabeth II about the steps he was undertaking to prepare the government for new leadership. British stocks are plunging as the market opens as investors scramble to react to the news. The pound has hit a 31-year low. Cameron sought to reassure investors and markets that "Britain's economy is fundamentally strong.Ó When he promised the referendum, in 2013, Cameron said it would "settle this European question in British politics" once and for all. He told voters he would forge a new deal between Britain and the EU that would make remaining an attractive prospect. At a Brussels summit in February, he won changes to welfare benefits that he said would reduce immigration and an exemption for Britain from the EU's commitment to "ever-closer union" Ñ a phrase that stirs images of a European super-state in some patriotic British hearts. (Source: CBC News) UK, Great Britain, England, David Cameron, EU, Brexit, boxing, European Union, referendum

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 24, 2016

British PM David Cameron to step down this year in wake of EU vote

Prime Minister David Cameron says he will resign by the fall and insists the British people’s will must be respected after voters chose to leave the 28-nation European Union.

“I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination,” Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street just before 8:30 a.m. in London.

Cameron, in power for six years, said he will resign by the time of the Conservative party conference in the fall. He turns 50 on Oct. 9.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday June 22, 2016 ÔBrexitÕ Vote Will Change Europe, No Matter the Outcome If the U.K. decides in ThursdayÕs referendum to leave the European Union, it would shake the continent to its political foundations. Even if it stays, the bloc may never be the same. A decision to leave, which would be a first by a member nation, would deepen the crisis facing a continent already struggling with economic weakness, debt problems, large-scale migration and growing geopolitical instability to its south and east. At a minimum, politicians and officials say, a British exit would transform the blocÕs balance of power. Negotiations over a new relationship would consume the EUÕs energy at a time when European institutions are struggling to respond to the other problems. A U.K. exit also could disrupt financial markets and fire up anti-EU forces in other countries. Whether or not the U.K. leaves, change is coming. In February, U.K. Prime Minister David CameronÊstruck a deal with the rest of the EU to restrict migrant benefits and detach Britain from the blocÕs push for an Òever closer union.Ó Mr. CameronÕs effort to claw back power from Brussels, coupled with the referendum at home, is an approach that other European politicians are promising to follow, potentially fragmenting the bloc further. The referendum, at a minimum, has delivered a shock to EuropeÕs political classes, calling into question what some had once regarded as an inevitable march toward a federal EU. ÒObsessed with the idea of instant and total integration, we failed to notice that ordinary people, the citizens of Europe, do not share our Euro-enthusiasm,Ó European Council President Donald Tusk observed in a speech in late May. ÒThe specter of a breakup is haunting Europe, and a vision of a federation doesnÕt seem to me like the best answer to it.Ó (Continued: Wall Street Journal)Êhttp://www.wsj.com/articles/brexit-vote-will-change-europe-no-mat

Wednesday June 22, 2016

“I held nothing back,” he said. “I was absolutely clear in my belief that Britain was stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union … but the British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path.”

Cameron said he had spoken to Queen Elizabeth II about the steps he was undertaking to prepare the government for new leadership.

British stocks are plunging as the market opens as investors scramble to react to the news. The pound has hit a 31-year low.

Cameron sought to reassure investors and markets that “Britain’s economy is fundamentally strong.”

When he promised the referendum, in 2013, Cameron said it would “settle this European question in British politics” once and for all.

He told voters he would forge a new deal between Britain and the EU that would make remaining an attractive prospect. At a Brussels summit in February, he won changes to welfare benefits that he said would reduce immigration and an exemption for Britain from the EU’s commitment to “ever-closer union” — a phrase that stirs images of a European super-state in some patriotic British hearts. (Source: CBC News)