As Prime Minister David Cameron tours Europe seeking allies for reforms within the European Union before Britain votes on a referendum on whether or not we should stay in the European Union, the actual vote could be as early as June – though current bets are more inclined towards an autumn vote.
Who knows though, and the campaigners – both FOR and AGAINST – are beginning to get up speed and seeking to grab our attention on the horrors that result from either staying IN or moving OUT.
First off out of the starting gate last weekend was the FOR campaign, outside HSBC’s branch in Rye. HSBC itself (the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) though has been talking about quitting Britain and moving its HQ back to China from its huge office block in London’s Docklands so it is not clear which way they might vote – particularly with the slowdown in China’s economy having knock-on effects around the world. So they may well stay in London now, but in Europe too? Well there’s a question.
But the first Easter egg has already been spotted on shop shelves and the first daffodils have flowered so the first Euro-campaigner (pictured above with the Rye News Editor, in black trilby, paying rapt attention) was bound to follow soon after – and there may be many, many, many more weeks of this.
Photo: Seana Lanigan