Pressure continues to mount for UK to quit EU

The time bomb is ticking

10:29 15 May 2013

UK Prime Minister David Cameron continues to face mounting pressure from most notably former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson. While Cameron favours reform of the European Union, there are many who believe that reform will never be enough and the best option for Britain is to regain its independence.

It is the Prime Minister’s belief that the UK people should have a choice between remaining part of a reformed EU or leave the union altogether. Cameron continues to argue that being part of the EU does not mean that the UK has to agree with or support everything that the EU proposes.

And with proper reformation, being a part of the EU may be beneficial to the UK. Cameron states the fact that the UK is not part of the eurozone and has no plans to join. The eurozone is an economic and monetary union of 17 EU member states that have agreed to adopt the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that leaving the EU altogether would "make us less safe because we co-operate in the European Union to go after criminal gangs that cross borders".

He also said that it could possibly put millions of jobs at risk and cause other governments like Washington, Beijing and Tokyo to not take them as seriously.

Lawson is adamant is his belief that a referendum is not the solution, and that it would be in Britain’s best interest to leave the EU especially since the formation of the eurozone.

Lawson stated his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European", adding: "The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part.”