At that point, Iowa officials will announce a date to hold their caucuses -- the first nominating contests of the 2008 presidential election cycle.

CNN: South Carolina GOP moves up primary, adds to 2008 scramble

Starting from scratch, it wants to build a central register that will hold the name, date of birth, current and former addresses, nationality, passport number and national insurance details of everybody residing in the country longer than three months.

ECONOMIST: Identity cards

Labour has said a commitment to hold a referendum at a future date would cause uncertainty, telling international investors that the UK was "closed for business".

BBC: David Cameron: UK could drift towards EU exit