As Queen Elizabeth (II) turns 90, Obama to head to London amid 'Brexit' frenzy

Britain will be permanently poorer if it leaves the EU in a June referendum and the cost to households could be £4,300 (5,400 euros, $6,100) a year, warns finance minister George Osborne. Video provided by AFP Newslook

LONDON — When President Obama arrives in London late Thursday from his trip to Saudi Arabia, the main chatter here is whether he will wade into the heated debate on whether Britain should vote to leave the European Union.
The president has made no secret of his wish for the United Kingdom to remain in the 28-member alliance. Britain will hold a referendum June 23 on whether to remain in the EU or leave — dubbed Brexit.

“I think his approach will be that if he’s asked his view as a friend, he will offer it, but he will make very clear that this is a matter the British people should decide when they head to the polls in June," Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters last week.
“I think (the Brexit debate) will be high on the agenda, but at the same time — not,” Maria Savel, an analyst at World Politics Review, told USA TODAY.

“U.S. presidents have always been very wary of wading into domestic issues in other countries,” she added. “He doesn’t want to appear to step on any toes. I don’t think he’s going to make an issue of it, but if he’s asked by the press, he’ll offer his opinion.”