Britain's EU referendum could lead to Brexit in 2016 - by Lianna Brinded

Bye Bye Britain

Britain could leave the European Union as early as next year as Prime Minister David Cameron is said to be already putting plans in motion to bring forward an in/out referendum by a year.

If Britons vote to leave the EU, this means the country could technically start severing its ties by the end of 2016.

The Conservatives won Thursday's General Election with a 12-seat majority. The Tories will have to deliver a referendum by 2017 over whether Britain will stay part of the EU, as it was a linchpin pledge during the campaign.

According to The Guardian, which cited unnamed government sources, Cameron is keen to move the referendum forward to capitalise on Tory support and to avoid being caught up in the French and German elections in 2017.

"The mood now is definitely to accelerate the process and give us the option of holding the referendum in 2016," one of The Guardian's sources said. "We had always said that 2017 was a deadline rather than a fixed date."

Read more: Britain's EU referendum could lead to Brexit in 2016 - Business Insider