UK’s Brexit vote a ‘once in a generation’ decision

David Cameron has described the referendum on Britain's EU membership as a "once in a generation decision" that is much greater than a general election.

The prime minister was speaking to staff at the O2 headquarters in Slough after the bosses of more than a third of Britain’s 100 biggest companies signed a letter urging a vote to stay in the EU.

“At election times you can vote in a team of people and if you’ve got fed up with them after five years you can vote them out. This is a decision that lasts for life. We make this decision and it is probably going to be the only time in our generation when we make this decision,” he said.

Security argument

Mr Cameron stressed the national security case for remaining in the EU, as well as the economic argument, claiming a British exit would "weaken the West" and embolden Islamic State and Vladimir Putin.

“I would say for anyone who is finding it hard to make up your mind, and you feel it is a very balanced decision, I would say come down on the side of security and safety and certainty,” he said.

Theresa Villiers rejected a call by Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness for her to step down as Northern Ireland secretary because she is campaigning for a Brexit. She played down the impact of a Leave vote on the relationship between the UK and Ireland, rejecting as "scare stories" fears about the return of Border controls.

“That’s not inevitable at all. We’ve always had a much closer relationship with the citizens of the Republic of Ireland than with the rest of the EU. It’s perfectly possible to maintain that free movement with Irish citizens. After all, we give them privileges in the UK which we accord to no other EU citizens, like the right to vote in our elections,” she told the BBC.

“I don’t think anyone should assume that Border checks should be introduced as a result of a UK exit. We are in the area of scare stories. We do need to recognise that the relationship between the UK and Ireland when it comes to this common travel area is decades older than our EU membership and doesn’t depend on it.”

The Common Travel Area, which is recognised in the EU treaty, has been in existence since 1923, apart from an interruption during the second World War, and includes the Isle of Man and Channel Islands as well as the UK and Ireland.

“It’s manifestly in our interests to ensure that ease of passage across the Border between North and South is as easy as possible. No one is wanting to wind the clock back and to introduce the kind of security checks at the Border that there were during the Troubles,” Ms Villiers said.

A new report by the British Social Attitudes survey has found two-thirds of British people could be described as Eurosceptics, but most are still likely to vote to remain in the EU.

Eurosceptics and exit

Some 65 per cent either want the UK to leave the EU or for the EU’s powers to be reduced, according to the survey, based on interviews with a large random sample of voters. Despite such widespread scepticism, the survey found twice as many voters wanted Britain to continue to be part of the EU.

"For most people, on its own this scepticism is not enough to warrant leaving the EU. The Leave campaign evidently needs to persuade more voters of its economic arguments, while Remain has to assure voters that the economic advantages of membership are worth putting up with interference from Brussels," said Prof John Curtice, senior research fellow at NatCen Social Research.