Labour MP, Kate Hoey, gets backing to head the pro-British independence campaign

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...ad-no-campaign

EU referendum: Kate Hoey gets backing to head no campaign

Labour donor backs woman who served as minister under Tony Blair, fearing that Ukip’s Nigel Farage would be divisive

Kate Hoey MP (Labour) has broad backing to head the independence campaign

Kate Hoey, the former Home Office minister under Tony Blair who is one of the most prominent Eurosceptics in the Labour party, is being lined up as a possible leader of the no campaign in the referendum on Britain’s EU membership. A leading Labour donor who is expected to bankroll the “Brexit” side described Hoey, the MP for Vauxhall, as a “tough fighter” who would appeal across the political spectrum.

John Mills, who was the national director of the no campaign in the 1975 EEC referendum, said: “I think she is a very strong, feisty figure. She is respected, she is liked. She knows her own mind, she is a tough fighter, she has been around for a long while. She is a reliable cogent figure. These are very important qualities that you need in somebody who is going to lead a campaign like this.”

The intervention by Mills came as David Cameron prepared to intensify his preparations for his renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership terms. The prime minister is expected to confirm after the Queen’s speech on Wednesday that the parliamentary bill paving the way for an in/out referendum by the end of 2017 will be the first measure to be debated by MPs. This will give the prime minister the option of holding the vote as early as next summer and is intended as a signal of his intent on the eve of a tour of European capitals to drum up support for his renegotiation plan.

The campaign to leave the EU will be known as the No campaign because the government is expected to confirm in the legislation paving the way for the referendum that voters will be asked if the UK should remain an EU member. This is in line with the recommendations of the Electoral Commission which ruled that the wording in a Tory private member’s bill in the last parliament could confuse voters. The bill had said that voters should be asked whether the UK should be an EU member, potentially confusing voters as to whether the UK is currently an EU member.

In backing Hoey, Mills voiced fears about the dangers of a campaign dominated by the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, and the need for a less combative figure. He said: “You’ve got to have some kind of balance in a no campaign to avoid it being polarised into Ukip against the rest of the country. Ukip just hasn’t got the measure of support needed to have any real of chance of winning on its own.” Mills, who is funding the Eurosceptic Business for Britain group, said he will make a final decision on whether to support the no campaign after the conclusion of Cameron’s renegotiations. Hoey was unavailable for comment.

I think I literally wrote this last night or a few days ago on here, suggesting a left-winger like Field or Hoey to head the campaign.

She has my backing.

Thoughts?

[FlyingJesus]

Good idea for them tbh, they're quite right in fearing what putting Farage as a leader of it could do to public support that is some mental hair though I hope she tames it

[GommeInc]

She should keep the hair. It makes her look like she owns a farm and has at least two border collies who she loves to lick her face while talking to guests to her farm about the cakes she made using eggs from her own chickens.

That said, it's good she is in charge and not Farage. It needs to be done with some amount of dignity rather than fiery passion and loudness.

[FlyingJesus]

SHE GENUINELY LOOKS LIKE THE LOVECHILD OF VOLDEMORT AND UMBRIDGE



I'm so glad we can take issues seriously on this site