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ARTICLE · 29 FEBRUARY 2016

An EU Referendum Primer

Deloitte
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At least one of the uncertainties surrounding Britain's relationship with the EU has been resolved. The UK's EU referendum will take place in about four months' time, on Thursday 23rd June.

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart
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At least one of the uncertainties surrounding Britain's relationship with the EU has been resolved. The UK's EU referendum will take place in about four months' time, on Thursday 23rd June. This week's Monday Briefing provides a pre-referendum primer and is lengthier than usual.

The last referendum on UK membership of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC) was held in 1975, just two years after the UK joined the EEC. The vote was an overwhelming victory for EEC membership, with the electorate voting by 67.2% to 32.8% to stay in.

In 1975 the debate was about membership of a trading bloc, the Common Market. For sure, the commitment to "ever closer union" was in the Treaty of Rome, but in 1975 few in the UK, especially in the yes campaign, paid much attention to it.

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