Saturday

3rd Jun 2023

Cameron urges Britons to register for EU vote

  • Cameron tweeted the link to the government website to keep on registering to vote (Photo: Georgina Coupe/Number 10)

Prime Minister David Cameron is urging people to try to register to vote in the UK referendum on EU membership as the deadline for registering to vote has been extended.

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said the government would legislate to extend the cut-off until midnight on Thursday, after a last-minute rush to sign up crashed the government website a few hours before the original Tuesday midnight deadline.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Cameron told parliament on Wednesday (8 June) that the authorities are in "urgent discussions" with the Electoral Commission "to try to ensure people who register can vote."

Meanwhile, he tweeted the website's link, and urged people to sign up to vote.

"If you aren't registered & you want to vote in this EU referendum you should continue to register," he wrote on Wednesday.

The Electoral Commission urged the government to consider options for introducing legislation that would extend the deadline.

"We would support such a change," the commission said in a statement , adding: "It is vital that everyone who wants to participate in this historic referendum is able to."

The surge in registration demand came after a debate on EU membership between Cameron and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage on Tuesday night.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said young people were particularly affected by the glitch.

As young people were overwhelmingly pro-European, he said disenfranchising them could potentially cost the UK its place in the EU.

Cameron warns of Brexit 'madness'

In an TV debate three weeks before the EU membership referendum, the British prime minister defended his promise to curb migration and warned that leaving the EU would be "economic self-harm".

No EU plan for Brexit, Eurogroup chief says

Jeroen Dijsselbloem says EU leaders have no plan in case British voters choose to leave the union and says the pro-EU camp should address emotional as well as rational interests.

Agenda

Last WEEK of UK in EU?

Referendum on 23 June would not immediately end Britain’s 43 year-old membership, but EU finance chiefs already wondering how to contain potential shock.

Brexit Briefing

Young voters could keep UK in EU

Last-minute registration by young people likely to boost the Remain side. High turnout, near 80 percent, would probably lead to victory for the Remain side.

Column

What a Spanish novelist can teach us about communality

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

Opinion

Poland and Hungary's ugly divorce over Ukraine

What started in 2015 as a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship between Viktor Orbán and Jarosław Kaczyński, for Hungary and Poland, is ending in disgust and enmity — which will not be overcome until both leaders leave.

Latest News

  1. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election
  2. EU data protection chief launches Frontex investigation
  3. Madrid steps up bid to host EU anti-money laundering hub
  4. How EU leaders should deal with Chinese government repression
  5. MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary's presidency
  6. IEA: World 'comfortably' on track for renewables target
  7. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  8. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us