PRESENTERS: TIM ESCUDIER & ERIC ERICKSON

UK Current Events Briefing

Migrants attempt to board a truck (lorrie) during a strike

Briefing #1: Prime Minister Cameron says Calais migrant scenes unacceptable. This is an immigration issue with France as a gateway for migrants into Britain.

Video:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33257415

Briefing #2

UK population increases by 500,000, official figures show

Population growth, as of June 2014 there were:

64,596,800 people living in the UK491,100 more than the previous year259,700 added from net

migration 226,200 from natural growth 25% of all births in 2013 were to

mothers born outside the UK The UK population grew by almost

half a million last year to 64,596,800, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Article SummaryArticle summary: Population growth has been largely due to the immigrant population of the larger urban areas of England. UK leadership has historically refused to comment on population spikes such as this due to election ramifications it may create. But anxiety about the pressure on services and the pace of cultural change among many voters is not likely to go away.

Biggest population increases in the UK by local authority

1. City of London - up 5.54% from 7,600 to 8,100

2. Tower Hamlets, London - up 4.08% from 272,900 to 284,000

3. Westminster, London - up 2.84% from 226,800 to 233,300

4. Forest Heath, West Suffolk - up 2.56% from 61,200 to 62,800

5. Islington, London - up 2.48% from 215,700 to 221,000

6. Coventry - up 2.31% from 329,800 to 337,400 7. Hackney, London - up 2.24% from 257,400 to

263,200 8. Camden, London - up 2.23% from 229,700 to

234,800 9. Oxford - up 2.08% from 154,800 to 158,000 10. Exeter - up 2.08% from 121,800 to 124,300 Source: ONS, figures for mid-2013 to mid-2014

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON PROMISES

IN/OUT REFERENDUM ON EU. CAMERON SAYS THE BRITISH PEOPLE MUST

HAVE THEIR SAY ON EUROPE AS HE PLEDGED A

REFERENDUM.

Briefing #3

Cameron meets with Merkel

David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU

Source www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21148282

Featured article summary

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33245877

This article from 2013 relates and connects to the sovereignty of the U.K.  The U.K. is facing supra-national pressures from the EU, as well as internal pressure from its own people and political parties.  The role of the U.K. in relationship to its neighbors is a compelling issue, that the Prime Minister is bringing to the people in the form of a referendum.  

Yesterday, the BBC released a story on Prime Minister Cameron visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss EU reform.  This shows that Cameron is revisiting the issue and that this supra-national pressure from, and about the EU, is an ongoing balancing act.  Link to the June 24 BBC article is below.  

UK and EU Referendum in the News

a) A) Identify the key character(s) or symbol(s) of the political cartoon

b) B) Discuss the message or significance of the cartoon

BACKGROUND-EU TIMELINE

1992: European leaders sign the Maastricht Treaty, creating the modern day European Union. The UK exits the European Exchange Rate Mechanism

1993: Tory rebels fail in campaign for a referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. Parliament approves the treaty but only after John Major is forced to call a vote of confidence in his government. Denmark and France are among countries to hold a referendum

1996: Businessman Sir James Goldsmith launches the Referendum Party to campaign for a public vote on the UK's membership of the EU. It secures 3% of the vote at the 1997 general election

1997: In their election manifesto, Labour say a yes vote in a referendum is a "pre-condition" for Britain for joining the single currency.

1999: The euro is launched. The UK opts out 2007: The European Commission proposes a replacement treaty, which comes to be known as the Lisbon

Treaty. The Labour government says it is a different document, amending not overwriting existing treaties, and a referendum is not needed. Conservative leader David Cameron gives a "cast-iron guarantee" to hold a referendum on any treaty emerging from the Lisbon process if he becomes PM

2008: Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg calls for an "in-out" referendum on UK membership of the EU. MPs reject a Conservative call for a referendum on whether the Lisbon Treaty should be ratified by 63 votes. 15 Labour MPs and 14 Lib Dems rebel against their parties

2008: The UK ratifies the Lisbon Treaty. The High Court rejects calls for a judicial review of the decision by Tory MP Bill Cash and businessman Stuart Wheeler. They claim ratification without a referendum was illegal

2009: David Cameron admits he will not be able to fulfil his pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty because it has been ratified by all EU member states. But he says, if elected, no future substantial transfer of powers will take place without the approval of the British people. The UK Independence Party, which puts an in/out referendum on UK membership of the EU at the heart of its programme, comes second in the European Parliament elections, with 16% of votes.

EU-timeline continued

24 October 2011: The motion calling for a referendum on EU membership is defeated in the Commons by 483 votes to 111. However, 81 Tory MPs support it and a further two actively abstain - making it by far the largest ever Conservative rebellion over Europe. In addition, 19 Labour MPs and one Liberal Democrat defy their party leadership in urging a referendum.

22 January 2013: In a long awaited speech Prime Minister David Cameron says that if the Conservatives win the next election they would seek to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the EU and then give the British people the "simple choice" in 2017 between staying in the EU under those terms or leaving the EU. His speech comes against a background of polls suggesting UK Independence Party support at 10%.

5 July 2013: The Conse rvative backbencher James Wharton brings forward a bill to enshrine in law his party's pledge to hold an in/out referendum in 2017. It passes its second reading by 304 votes to 0. It goes on to clear all its Commons hurdles before falling in the House of Lords.

31 January 2014: David Cameron says the Conservatives will bring back the Private Member's Bill and said he was prepared to use the Parliament Act to force it into law, rather than seeing the Lords block it again.

5 March 2014: It is announced that the BBC is to host a TV debate on Britain's future in Europe between UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage - whose party is riding high in polls ahead of May's European election and who wants an immediate in/out referendum - and Nick Clegg, whose Lib Dems say they are the only "party of in" when it comes to the EU.

12 March 2014: Ed Miliband writes an article for the Financial Times in which he says that Labour will not hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union unless there are proposals to transfer further powers from London to Brussels.

26 October 2014: Conservative backbencher Bob Neill brings back the EU Referendum Bill as a Private Member's Bill. It passed its first Parliamentary hurdle with no opposition.

28 October 2014: The Conservatives accuse their coalition partners the Lib Dems of blocking the EU Referendum Bill after the two parties fail to reach an agreement which would have allowed the bill to get the necessary parliamentary time to become law.

8 May 2015: The Conservatives win a majority in the House of Commons in the general election and immediately pledge to make good on their election manifesto promise to hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU by the end of 2017

27 May 2015: The Queen's Speech is expected to include details of the proposed EU referendum bill - with more detail over the likely date it will be held...