Mr Johnson said: "What I want to see and what I think the Prime Minister wants to see is Europe realising that the reason the Eurozone is a microclimate of gloom at the moment isn't just the Euro, the problem is there are all sorts of rules and regulations in the past 20 -30 years that have been dreamt up by Brussels, supply side stuff, that is holding back growth on the continent. We need a renegotiation to get rid of some of that nonsense and to make the whole area more competitive and if that fails, then yes obviously we should be ready to walk away, we should be ready to leave. I don’t think that that is as existential, as dramatic a step, as it was ten/twenty years ago. London, the UK, has to be a global player.”
The Mayor also dismissed the idea the UK should be scared of leaving the EU saying: “Absolutely not fatal, no. And to talk of losing three million jobs is complete nonsense. And if we're honest, democratically it would be a shot in the arm because people would suddenly feel yes, we're running our own destiny again. Our politics is entirely independent, British electors can really choose the people who are taking the decisions that affect their lives. That would be a very important benefit. You'd have to make sure you weren’t losing access to those markets and you weren't damaging the interests of British business. That's why I’ve always been in favour, broadly, of being in the single market. I want to see a solid renegotiation, we’ve got to sit down with our friends and partners and say, look this thing isn’t working for any of us...the Eurozone is becoming a zone of misery. We need a new approach to the EU economy generally."
The London Mayor's intervention comes as news of a Tory rebel backbench amendment to the Queen's Speech was published which is worded: "This House respectfully regrets that an EU Referendum Bill was not included in the Gracious Speech." Speculation is that the Speaker, John Bercow is likely to accept the amendment so it can be voted on. The Labour party have said they'll be whipping their MPs to vote against as will the Liberal Democrats. Conservative Ministers will also be whipped to vote against, Conservative backbenchers seem to of been given a green light to vote for the amendment if they wish too.
