EU referendum: Voters will be asked if UK 'should remain a member'

Come the much-anticipated In/Out referendum on the European Union, voters are to be asked if the UK should "remain a member" when they go to the polls, Downing Street has confirmed.

This means that people who want Britain to remain in the EU will form the "Yes" campaign.

Details of the question, and the government's commitment to stage the vote by the end of 2017 are contained in the EU Referendum Bill, which will be introduced into Parliament today, just as David Cameron embarks on a whirlwind tour across Europe in an attempt to win other leaders over on his plans to renegotiate Britain's terms.

The Conservatives' preferred wording for the in/out referendum question - "Do you think that the United Kingdom should be a member of the European Union?" - has been dropped following concerns by the Electoral Commission that some people might think the country was not already a member.

Instead the watchdog's recommended choice for voters has been adopted in the EU Referendum Bill. It reads: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?"

Downing Street said the measures being published provide a "concrete step" towards settling the row over Britain's links with Brussels and show the Prime Minister has been "true to his word" on giving the public a say.