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Leaving EU would be 'a jump into a void' for the UK | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A vote for Britain to leave the EU would be a "jump into a void", according to the head of a new pro-European Conservative campaign group. | |
Former minister Nick Herbert has launched Conservatives for Reform in Europe (CRE) to argue the case for the UK to stay under renegotiated terms. | |
Meanwhile, the education secretary is also warning young people could be "cut off from the world" if the UK leaves. | |
David Cameron has said ministers can campaign on either side of the debate. | |
The PM's push to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership of the EU is expected to come to a head at a Brussels summit next month, ahead of a UK in/out referendum by the end of 2017. | The PM's push to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership of the EU is expected to come to a head at a Brussels summit next month, ahead of a UK in/out referendum by the end of 2017. |
Explained: What David Cameron wants from the EU negotiations | Explained: What David Cameron wants from the EU negotiations |
Guide: All you need to know about the referendum | Guide: All you need to know about the referendum |
Analysis: Latest from the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler | Analysis: Latest from the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler |
More: BBC News EU referendum special report | More: BBC News EU referendum special report |
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Herbert said: "Leaving without the first idea of what we might get instead would be to jump into a void. | Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Herbert said: "Leaving without the first idea of what we might get instead would be to jump into a void. |
"Whatever our views about the EU, the key long-term challenges facing this country - how to deliver health and social care with an ageing population, how to increase our competitiveness and productivity, how to deal with our debt and live within our means - would not suddenly be solved by leaving." | |
But Mr Herbert - who led the campaign to keep Britain out of the euro 15 years ago - said that without sufficient reform to the UK's terms of membership "many of us would be prepared to leave". | |
'Anti-competitive' | |
His views are echoed by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan - the first minister to declare her allegiance for the EU. | |
In an article for the Observer, she said: "I think all of us agree what we don't want Britain to be: anti-competitive with more laws made overseas and with people travelling here for the benefits on offer rather than to pay their way. | |
"But we also don't want our children to inherit a Britain cut off from the world, where their prospects are limited and their opportunities end at our shores." | "But we also don't want our children to inherit a Britain cut off from the world, where their prospects are limited and their opportunities end at our shores." |
CRE's campaign is being launched just days after Conservative Eurosceptic and Leader of the Commons Chris Grayling said it would be "disastrous" if Britain was to remain in with its current terms of membership. | |
Mr Cameron has said ministers will be free to campaign on either side ahead of the referendum, but he has also warned that they must treat each other with "appropriate respect and courtesy". | Mr Cameron has said ministers will be free to campaign on either side ahead of the referendum, but he has also warned that they must treat each other with "appropriate respect and courtesy". |
What Cameron wants from the EU | What Cameron wants from the EU |
The UK is to have a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether to remain a member of the European Union or to leave. The vote is being preceded by a process of negotiations in which the Conservative government wants to secure a new deal for the UK including: | The UK is to have a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether to remain a member of the European Union or to leave. The vote is being preceded by a process of negotiations in which the Conservative government wants to secure a new deal for the UK including: |
Eurosceptic Conservative MPs criticised the prime minister's reform demands during a Commons debate last year, with backbencher Bernard Jenkin drawing gasps from MPs by asking: "Is that it?" | |
John Redwood said there was nothing to suggest Britain would get "anything like the protection we need" from European laws despite Mr Cameron's efforts. | |
And UKIP Leader Nigel Farage said it was clear Mr Cameron "is not aiming for any substantial renegotiation". | |
Other parties are also preparing campaign groups. Labour Leave - led by MP Kate Hoey - is set to launch this week, despite Jeremy Corbyn's promise that his party would campaign to stay in the EU. | Other parties are also preparing campaign groups. Labour Leave - led by MP Kate Hoey - is set to launch this week, despite Jeremy Corbyn's promise that his party would campaign to stay in the EU. |