We believe that the U.K. government's decision to hold a referendum on EU membership by 2017 indicates that economic policymaking could be at risk of being more exposed to party politics than we had previously anticipated, similar to the situation in the U.S. when we lowered that sovereign rating in 2011. A possible U.K. departure from the EU also raises questions about the financing of the economy's large twin deficits and high short-term external debt. We are therefore revising the outlook to negative from stable and affirming the 'AAA/A-1+' ratings on the U.K. On June 12, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the United Kingdom to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our
