In or out of the Union?

Charles Grant, director of the London-based think-tank the CER, pointed out that the essence of the "Brexit" (British exit) threat could be summed up as "give us what we want, by the deadline that we specify, or we may well leave the EU."

..."It was quite good politics. It will probably keep the Conservative Party under control until the next election," Stephen Tindale, associate fellow at the CER, told the Global Times."But it was intellectually incoherent. Cameron praised the importance of the Single Market, but then said that each country should be allowed to set its own regulations. This would mean the end of the Single Market through the setting up of many non-tariff barriers," Tindale added.
...Tindale believes that Britain is not on an exit course. Cameron has to win a majority at the next election, which is far from certain. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have not called for a referendum. And the British public might vote to stay in, as they did in 1975 (even though some polls had suggested beforehand that they would vote to leave).
...According to Tindale, the UK would lose the possibility of cooperating on justice and home affairs, and lose the ability to influence climate and energy policies, bringing economic and environmental disadvantages.