Britain to hold historic EU membership referendum in June, says PM David Cameron

A historic referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union will be held on June 23, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Saturday, even as he declared his belief that Britain would be “safer and stronger” if it remained in the 28-nation bloc.

Cameron spoke in front of his 10 Downing Street office after holding a rare Saturday Cabinet meeting and winning its agreement to recommend that Britain remain part of the EU rather than strike out on its own.

Despite that support, some Cabinet figures will back the “leave” campaign that wants Britain to carve its own path outside of the EU bureaucracy in Brussels.

Cameron said if Britons decided to remain in the EU, he would seek continued reforms to address their concerns about job losses and benefit payments to EU migrants seeking work in Britain.

“I don’t love Brussels, I love Britain,” he said, emphasising that Britain can have “the best of both worlds” if it remains in the EU under a reform deal he reached on Friday night with EU leaders.

The June vote will come as the EU struggles to deal with a sustained immigration crisis that last year brought more than one million people fleeing war and poverty to its shores.