I said to a friend the other day "Why are we having this referendum, who decided we needed it? " She explained the conservatives promised it before they were elected. I was guessing this was to try to win votes
This article sums up the whole situation quite well. Bloody David Cameron
(you can probably tell I didn't vote Conservative in the last election)
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...flon-cockiness
Cameron has lost his job – his Teflon cockiness has finally worn off
Aditya Chakrabortty
As the pound plunges and the markets slide, remember that this entire referendum was called by David Cameron. The prime minister has lost his big gamble – and the rest of the country will pay the price.
Financial chaos, economic crisis, the likely breakaway of Scotland and possibly Northern Ireland: quite a morning’s work for the Bullingdon Club.
Remember as the pound plunges and the markets slide that this entire referendum was called by David Cameron to fend off Nigel Farage and his own Tory ultras. There was no public outcry for a ballot – but for the sake of a bit of internal party management, he called one anyway. He gambled Britain and Europe’s future to shore up his own position. With all the confidence of a member of the Etonian officer class, he thought he’d win. Instead he has bungled so badly that the fallout will drag on for years, disrupting tens of millions of lives across Europe. (full article above)