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 In an attempt to quell dissent among some of his own lawmakers and
win back Eurosceptic voters who have defected to the anti-EU UK
Independence Party, Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's EU
ties before offering a membership referendum in 2017 if he is
re-elected next year.
Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour party, is due later on
Monday in a speech to business leaders to warn that political rivals
who "flirt" with pulling Britain out of the EU are putting millions
of jobs at risk by generating uncertainty.
Speaking at the same event before Miliband, Cameron said consistency
was the best way to encourage investment.
"Sometimes people say to me, by raising issues about Europe and
European reform, doesn't that make life less predictable? I would
argue quite the opposite ... the worst thing for us to do as a
country is to pretend this European debate isn't happening," said
Cameron.
Cameron said his Conservative-led government had presided over an
"extraordinary" period of investment into Britain that showed people
were not deterred by the debate over Europe.
"Britain's future in Europe matters to our country and it isn't
working properly for us at the moment and that is why we need to
make changes," he said. "Simply standing here and just saying 'I
will stay in Europe, I will stay with whatever we have, come what
may', that is not a strategy."
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Miliband, hoping to cash in on unhappiness among some business
groups at the possibility that a Conservative election win could see
them lose unfettered access to the EU's single market of 500-million
people, will say Britain's national interest is being damaged.
"We have seen over the last couple of years that trying to use exit
as a threat has simply weakened our influence not strengthened it.
And I will not be part of it," he will say, according to extracts of
his speech released in advance.
"If I am prime minister I will never risk your businesses, British
jobs, or British prosperity by playing political games with our
membership of the European Union."
(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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