Britain's government is about to make a massive change to the EU referendum

Britain's government is about to make a massive change to the upcoming European Union referendum.

According to the BBC, citing unnamed government sources, Prime Minister David Cameron will uphold a "purdah" before Britons vote on whether they want to stay in or out of the EU, in 2017.

He will alleging present this in a document later today.

A purdah is usually applied around 6 weeks before a scheduled election and it prevents central and local government officials from making announcements about any new initiatives which could be seen to be putting one person or a party in a more favourable light.

Around 27 MPs have called for a purdah to be placed in the run up the EU referendum. This means ministers will not be able to present last minute reports or opinions about whether Britain should stay or leave the EU.

Cameron voiced repeated support over the last few months about not wanting to place a purdah on the EU referendum process.

In June, 27 ministers from Cameron's Conservative party argued that without a purdah, the government's planned pro-EU reports to be published around 28 days before the voting date could unfairly sway opinion so close to the vote.

The Public Administration Select Committee, which is a body that considers matters relating to the quality and standards of administration within the Civil Service, gave support to Cameron saying that it was unconvinced that a purdah was necessary.

However, the BBC reported that Cameron has changed his mind as he does not want there to be any doubt over the fairness of the outcome in the EU referendum - regardless of which way people vote.

"A vote for Brexit would probably cause the collapse of the government and major economic weakness," said Citi. "Even a vote to stay in the EU (especially a narrow win) might create political splits in the Conservative party and destabilise the government, hence limiting the government's ability to achieve its wider aims."