Campaigners for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU say they will stage the first of a series of public polls on the issue in Essex.

Campaigners say a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union will take place in April - in a single parliamentary constituency.

So now we have it: the ten words which Alex Salmond hopes will end Scotland’s 300-year-old membership of the United Kingdom. ‘Do you agree that Scotland should become an independent country?’ The First Minister unveiled his consultation paper on an independence referendum today and, to the surprise of many, actually did what David Cameron has been asking of him. He came out with ...

Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting ahead of David Cameron’s speech at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg today, said:

Result reassures Brussels where officials have wondered exactly how appealing membership might be in the midst of a turbulent debt crisis

Two-thirds of Croatians voted in favour of joining the European Union in a referendum held yesterday (22 January), and if the ratification of the accession treaty goes smoothly in EU nations, Croatia will become the 28th Union member on 1 July 2013. EurActiv reports based on the coverage by Lider, its Croatian partner. More »

Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): What do the Government propose should happen to the shared debts and the shared membership of the European Union were Scotland to leave the Union? The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore): The right hon. Gentleman asks an important question. I am sure that it is one of many

The government has relaxed red tape on membership of local, non-profit lenders, and granted them powers to compete with payday lenders

Foreign ministers of Slovenia and Croatia are to meet on 10 January in Brussels to agree on the membership of an arbitration tribunal to solve a long-standing border dispute between the former Yugoslav republics, the EU executive confirmed yesterday (4 January). More »

We are in real difficulty over the NHS Bill.  Spring conference showed the party at its best.  The membership expressed concerns and the leadership responded deftly with the “listening exercise”.  This aimed to reassure NHS and public opinion by securing substantial changes to Andrew Lansley’s proposals, without too much loss of face within the coalition.