News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

EU-and-Union-Jack-flags-main_article_image.jpg
Tim Ireland/PA Wire
UK News

New EU referendum question is "much better", says Christian Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott

The question will now be whether people wish to remain in or leave the EU after Prime Minister David Cameron accepted the Electoral Commission's advice.

It had said asking a yes/no question in the vote, promised by the end of 2017, could create a possible bias.

An amendment to be tabled by the Government when the Bill returns to Parliament on September 7 will propose changing the question to: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?"

Lewis Whyld/PA Wire

The responses would be "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union".

Christian Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott welcomed the move: "To me that's a simple question of fairness. It seems to me that if you have a choice to go from a leading question to one which is not leading, it's much better to have the one which is not leading.

"So it's good to see that the Electoral Commission, for once at least, has got something right and that the government's going to go ahead with it".

Electoral Commission chair Jenny Watson said: "Any referendum question must be as clear as possible so that voters understand the important choice they are being asked to make. We have tested the proposed question with voters and received views from potential campaigners, academics and plain language experts.

"Whilst voters understood the question in the bill some campaigners and members of the public feel the wording is not balanced and there was a perception of bias. The alternative question we have recommended addresses this.

"It is now for Parliament to discuss our advice and decide which question wording should be used."

The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "We will accept the Electoral Commission's recommendation and we will table an amendment to the bill accordingly."

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate