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Cameron Agrees EU Referendum Word Change

Cameron Agrees EU Referendum Word Change

Prime Minister David Cameron has agreed to change the wording of the EU Referendum so voters will no longer be asked to vote "Yes" or "No".

The change has been made on the advice of the Electoral Commission after the watchdog warned the original question could be interpreted as biased.

There were complaints that the question - "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?" - could give an advantage to the campaigners wanting the UK to stay within the EU.

Downing Street said voters will now be asked the question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?"

The answers will be: "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union."

The Government will table an amendment to the bill in order to alter the wording when it returns to Parliament on 7 September ahead of the referendum which it has promised will be held by the end of 2017.

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.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage welcomed the proposed change: "I'm in no doubt that the Yes/No offering was leading to great confusion and that remain or leave is much clearer. That combined with a more explicit question is the right direction of travel."

The news comes as Mr Farage announced his party was launching its own campaign for a "No" vote that will be separate from the two existing campaigns.

"I will work with anyone and everyone to try and get a "No" vote in this referendum, Mr Farage told Sky News.

"What we in UKIP are saying is the "Yes" side have had too much of their own way over the course of the summer.

"Barely a week goes by when we don't get Tony Blair or Lord Mandelson telling us what we must vote to stay in the European Union so what we are doing, as the one Eurosceptic organisation in Britain that's got tens of thousands of members and hundreds of branches, are having our biggest ever public outreach campaign ... and we are going to get cracking."

Eurosceptic Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said: "I'm glad the PM has accepted the Electoral Commission's recommendation on a fair question in the EU vote. Rigged ballots settle nothing.

"I've argued all along, though, that the wording matters less than maintaining the rule about not deploying state resources on either side."