Doubtful Result Will Endanger UK’s Global Role

Belying forecasts Prime Minister David Cameron won reelection and is set to form a new cabinet. During the campaign Cameron promised to stage a referendum on British membership in the EU. Catherine Field, writing for the New Zealand Herald, points out that such ballot measures divide the electorate. If the referendum is held as planned and the electorate supports British exit from the EU, the United States could find Britain a less useful ally, and Britain may have less global influence by breaking away from the European Union. Foreign affairs and defense matters have not been top issues for debate during the campaign, reports Field. “Over five years, the Government ruthlessly cut defence spending, kept out of the war in Syria and chose to take a back seat in the European Union,” she writes. “As a result, Britain has been largely watching from the sideline as the United States fights Isis (Islamic State) and its EU partners shape events in Ukraine or grapple with a migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.” Britain’s business community favors the nation remaining with the EU. – YaleGlobal