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This time next year Britain could be outside the EU as David Cameron clears the decks to hold referendum as early as next May

PM defies calls from Electoral Commission to avoid staging EU referendum on the same day as other UK elections

Friday 05 June 2015 14:56 BST

British Prime Minister David Cameron talks with President-elect of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker at the start of a Special Meeting of the European Council at EU Council headquarters in Brussels (EPA)

This time next year Britain could be outside the European Union after David Cameron cleared the way for an early referendum on Britain's membership of the 28-state bloc.

The wording of the EU Referendum Bill, which will be introduced to the House of Commons next week, allows the Government to stage the referendum on the same day as "any election", defying calls from the Electoral Commission to avoid holding the vote on the same day as other UK elections.

David Cameron invited European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to Chequers in a bid to kick-start his renegotiation bid (PA)

It means voters could be going to the polls to decide on the UK's membership of the EU on May 5 next year, the same day as local elections in England, elections to the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament and the same day as Londoners choose their new mayor.

Conservative party whips have also informed the party's MPs that the referendum campaign could last just 16 weeks, according to reports in the Daily Mail.

Angela Merkel gave a boost to David Cameron's renegotiation bid by saying the EU could consider treaty change (EPA)

It suggests Mr Cameron and George Osborne are keen to end the uncertainty caused by the referendum by staging a vote as early as possible and thereby exploiting the poorly organised 'Out' campaign, which is lagging behind in the polls and is struggling to find an influential figure that can persuade Britain to vote 'No'.

The Prime Minister wasted no time in kick-starting his drive to reform the EU after winning a majority at the election, embarking on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals last week in a bid to persuade his continental counterparts of the merits of his call for a renegotiated settlement for the UK.

He is all-too-aware of the financial uncertainty hanging over the country as businesses wait to find out whether Britain stays in the influential trading bloc.

The 'in' and 'out' campaigns will look to learn lessons from last year's referendum on Scottish independence (Getty Images)

Downing Street is privately hoping to secure a renegotiation settlement before Christmas - in time for the Prime Minister to announce the date of the referendum early next year - in time for a May vote.

Mr Cameron was given a boost by Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, who said yesterday the EU could consider amending its treaties.

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

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1/8What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Welfare payments will be slashed

One of the most controversial parts of the Conservative manifesto was to cut benefits for the working age poor by £12 bn over the next three years. But during the campaign they only said where £2 bn of these savings would come from. That leaves £10 bn still to find. Some experts think the only way they can close that gap is by means testing child benefit – with millions of families losing out

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be tax cuts for those in work and those who die

The Tories will increase the threshold at which the 40p rate of tax becomes payable to £50,000 by 2020. They haven’t said so but it is also likely that at some point in the next five years they will abolish that 45p rate of tax altogether for the highest earners. They also want to increase the effective inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to £1m

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be an in/out EU referendum in 2017

The next two years are going to be dominated by the prospect of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. First off David Cameron has the daunting task of negotiating a deal with other EU leaders an acceptable deal that he can sell to his party so he can go into the referendum campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote. This may be unachievable and it is possible that the Tories may end up arguing to leave. Opinion polls show Britain is divided on EU membership, one poll this year showed 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be more privatisation of the NHS

Having won the election the Tories now have a mandate to go further and faster reforming the NHS. In order to make cost savings there is likely to be greater private involvement in running services, while some smaller hospitals may lose services they currently provide like A&E and maternity units

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be many more free schools – and traditional state schools will become a thing of the past

The Tories plans to create 500 new free schools and make 3,000 state schools become academies. They will also carry on reforming the Department of Education and remove more powers from local authorities over how schools are run

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

On shore wind farms will be a thing of the past and fracking will be the future

Government spending on renewable energy is under real threat now the Lib Dems are no longer in power with the Tories. Subsidies are likely to be slashed for off-shore wind farm and other green energy supplies. Meanwhile there will be generous tax break for fracking as ministers try and incentivise the industry to drill for onshore oil and gas

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There maybe more free childcare – but not necessarily

In the campaign the Tories pledged to double the amount of free early education for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 30. The extra hours would only be offered to working families where parents are employed for at least eight hours a week. However they have not said where the money will come from to fund the pledge

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Workers' rights could be reduced

The Tories want to slash business regulation, merge regulator and cut costs. The Lib Dems stopped them from reducing the employment rights of workers in power – but these are now under threat

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Treaty change is crucial to Mr Cameron's hopes of driving through substantial reforms, such as restricting EU migrants' access to benefits.

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