EU referendum: 40pc increase in campaign budget limit angers Eurosceptics as Barack Obama again voices support for Yes vote
David Cameron has angered Eurosceptics with plans to raise the campaign spending limits for the EU referendum by 40 per cent.
According to The Times, he amount the “lead” organisation in each campaign will be permitted to spend will hit £7m, up from £5m, while the total for each campaign would be £35m, up from £25m.
Read more: Where can David Cameron hope to find support for reform in Europe?
No campaigners are complaining that this will put them at a greater disadvantage, with a perceived imbalance financial clout already highlighted as a cause for concern by Ukip. The government maintains that the changes simply bring old limits in line with inflation.
The campaign looks set to be a bitter one, with Cameron calling a deeply divided Conservative party to heel over the referendum. MPs who want to vote no, he said, had no place in a government committed to fighting for reform.
The splits in the Tory party run deep indeed. A group of 50 MPs, calling themselves the Conservatives for Britain, is campaigning hard to keep pressure on reform.
Steve Baker, the group's spokesperson and the MP for Wycombe, said he "wouldn't be surprised" if "one or two" cabinet ministers resigned if "we don't get a sovereign Parliament". Baker also said said his colleagues should be free to vote for the position they regard to be correct, and said it was a case of "death or glory" for those wanting to leave the EU.
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Barack Obama again emphasised the US' position: the States sees the UK is more valuable as an ally if it remains part of the bloc.
We have no closer partner around the world on a whole host of issues. I would note that one of the great values of having the United Kingdom in the European Union is its leadership and strength on a whole host of global challenges, so we very much are looking forward to the United Kingdom staying part of the European Union.