TheBloomberg speech was an address on Britain's membership of theEuropean Union, given in January 2013 byDavid Cameron, the thenConservative Party leader andPrime Minister of the United Kingdom. Although presented while theConservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government was in office, it was given as a party political speech rather than one given on behalf of theUK Government, without the support of theLiberal Democrats.
This was the first majorEurosceptic speech to be given by a serving prime minister sinceMargaret Thatcher'sBruges speech in 1988, and would mark the beginning of a series of events starting with the2015–2016 United Kingdom renegotiation of European Union membership that would ultimately lead toBrexit (the United Kingdom leaving the European Union) seven years later in 2020, thereby ending 47 years ofEU membership.
The speech was drafted byEdward Llewellyn, theDowning Street Chief of Staff, along with John Casson, Tim Kiddell, andHelen Bower-Easton, with the opening few pages written by Clare Foges.[1]
The speech on 23 January 2013 atBloomberg London covered the UK's future relationship with Europe. The Prime Minister called for fundamental reform of theEuropean Union (EU) and called for an in–out referendum (theBrexit referendum) to be held on the UK's membership.[2][3][4][5][6]
Simply asking the British people to carry on accepting a European settlement over which they have had little choice is a path to ensuring that when the question is finally put – and at some stage it will have to be – it is much more likely that the British people will reject the EU.
That is whyI am in favour of a referendum. I believe in confronting this issue – shaping it, leading the debate. Not simply hoping a difficult situation will go away.
— David Cameron
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Initially, the speech had little impact politically as at the time polls were suggesting that the subsequent general election would result in ahung parliament.[citation needed] With both theLabour Party and the Liberal Democrats being opposed to an in–out referendum,[citation needed] it was expected that the Conservatives would ultimately have to renege on any promise to hold a referendum if they were to remain in government.[citation needed] The Conservative Party included the referendum in their manifesto for the2015 general election. Support for theUK Independence Party (UKIP) dropped substantially and the Conservatives won an unexpected small overall majority; the referendum was held in June 2016.
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