Boris Johnson: Referendum is once in a lifetime chance to change relations with Europe

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said the referendum is a "once in a lifetime chance" to vote for real change in Britain's relations with Europe as he further outlined his decision to campaign for Brexit.

Writing in Monday's Daily Telegraph, Boris said: "There is only one way to get the change we need – and that is to vote to go; because all EU history shows that they only really listen to a population when it says No.

"The fundamental problem remains: that they have an ideal that we do not share. They want to create a truly federal union, e pluribus unum, when most British people do not."

It comes after Mr Johnson announced his decision to back the leave campaign in a statement to press who had gathered outside his north London home on Sunday.

"The more the EU does, the less room there is for national decision making," Boris writes.

He adds: "At a time when Brussels should be devolving power, it is hauling more and more towards the centre, and there is no way that Britain can be unaffected."

He praises David Cameron, for achieving "more than many expected" but he said it is time to seek "a new relationship."

"This is a once in a lifetime chance to vote for real change in Britain’s relations with Europe, Boris writes.

"This is the only opportunity we will ever have to show that we care about self-rule. A vote to Remain will be taken in Brussels as a green light for more federalism, and for the erosion of democracy."