PRESS RELEASE : Campaign News – Panic at Number 10
The press release issued by Vote Leave on 26 October 2015.
The Prime Minister’s renegotiation is failing. He has dropped nine out of ten demands. This failure has sparked some panic in Downing Street. There’s been three examples over the weekend.
Playing the UN gimmick
The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Prime Minister would take his renegotiation to the UN in an attempt to ensure that all 27 other member states keep to their agreement. We suspected that the PM might do this and said so in last Friday’s weekly update. Number 10 claims that lodging the agreement with the UN will make it ‘legally binding’. UN regulations make clear that registering an agreement does not affect its legal position. This ploy is a classic PR gimmick that further undermines No10’s renegotiation.
Government spin doctors ordered to prop up BSE campaign
The Sunday Times noted that David Cameron called an emergency meeting of special advisors and senior spin doctors today in Downing Street to discuss ‘pro-EU’ stories to give to the BSE campaign. Until recently Downing Street was trying to claim it was not backing either side in the referendum debate and that only when it had secured reforms would the PM decide whether to campaign for ‘leave’ or ‘remain’. They have been rattled by BSE’s failure and Rose’s disastrous interview.
PM rules out two referendums
Over the weekend a number of papers reported that David Cameron has ruled out a second referendum in the event of a ‘Leave’ vote saying that ‘leave means leave’. This ignores the reality that were the Government to lose the referendum, most in his own party think David Cameron would have to resign and a decision about how to handle a ‘leave’ vote will be for his successor. No10 wants Vote Leave to commit to the ‘Norway option’. We have not and will not. After we Vote Leave, Britain will negotiate our own agreement – we will not just take one off the shelf. We will say more about this shortly.
‘Tampon tax’
An amendment to the Finance Bill could force the Chancellor to negotiate with the EU an exemption from VAT for women’s sanitary protection products. The 5% rate is the minimum set by EU law and the UK has no power to cut VAT any further. If we Vote Leave, we will end the supremacy of EU law and regain control of our taxes.
