video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Prime Minister David Cameron began his long-delayed speech on Europe on Wednesday (January 23) by saying that Britain must renegotiate its relationship with the European Union or else risk its disillusioned people opting to drift towards the exit. "I never want us to pull up the drawbridge and retreat from the world. I am not a British isolationist but I do want a better deal for Britain, but not just a better deal for Britain I want a better deal for Europe too," Cameron told journalists in London. "There is a gap between the EU and its citizens which has grown dramatically in recent years, and which represents a lack of democratic accountability and consent that is yes felt particularly acutely here in Britain," he added. "Now if we don't address these challenges the danger is that Europe will fail and British people will drift towards the exit. I do not want that to happen. I want the European Union to be a success. And I want a relationship between Britain and the European Union that keeps us in it." Later in his speech Cameron promised to give Britons a straight referendum choice on whether to stay in the European Union or leave, provided he wins an election in 2015.