David Cameron has left the door open for an early EU referendum to be held on the same day as other elections next year, despite Labour’s call for it to take place on a different date. At his weekly prime minister’s question time, Cameron was pressed by the acting Labour leader, Harriet Harman, to rule out holding the poll at the same time as elections for the Scottish parliament, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies and the London mayor in May 2016. Harman said she “strongly agreed” with the Electoral Commission that referendum polling day should not feature any other elections and urged the prime minister to agree a separate voting day.
However, Cameron replied: “My view is the timing of the referendum should be determined by the timing of the renegotiation. When the renegotiation is complete, we set a date for the referendum. “I don’t myself think it should be determined by the timing of other elections.”
He also said he had been satisfied with the referendum on whether Britain should adopt the alternative vote electoral system, which was held on the same day as other elections, telling MPs: “I think people are capable of making those two decisions.”
Full Article: PM refuses to rule out EU referendum on same day as other elections next year | Politics | The Guardian.