Britain's Cameron says vote win gives him mandate for "tough" EU renegotiation

[May 11, 2015]  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that renegotiating Britain's relationship with the European Union would be tough but that his decisive election victory last week had given him a mandate.

"We have got a mandate, it will be tough obviously but we have got a mandate," Cameron told reporters before addressing a meeting of his lawmakers in parliament to loud applause and cheers.

Cameron, who won a surprise outright majority last week, has promised to renegotiate Britain's EU ties before holding an in-out EU membership referendum by the end of 2017.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and William James; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.