What does the British public think about Europe? Spotlight on public opinion on the EU.

• A majority of people think Britain’s future is best served within the EU or within the EU while trying to reduce its powers.
  
  
• When asked about votes in an EU referendum, results fluctuate. The last few years have shown a general trend towards wanting to leave the EU but the gap between those wanting in or out has narrowed.
  
  
• Since 2010, interest in Europe as an issue has been rising.
  
  

The majority favour an EU referendum
A YouGov poll in May 2013 asked respondents what they would most like to see when it came to an EU referendum.
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This works out at 62% of people who are in favour of a referendum on EU membership. But, Anthony Wells from YouGov has previously warned that polls nearly always show a large majority in favour of a referendum: “Asking if there should be a referendum on an issue is essentially asking if politicians should decide an issue, or whether the respondent should be allowed a say.” The same goes for timing – as he says, “if you support something, why wait?”.
Gap between ‘in’ and ‘out’ voting intentions is narrowing
When it comes to how people would vote, YouGov’s latest poll in March 2014 found more people wanting to stay in the EU than to leave (41%:39%). But this is the first time in over a year that more people wanted to stay than leave; the last time being in January 2013 just after David Cameron had first announced his referendum pledge. So the results of the polling can be volatile.
It also depends on how the question is asked. Another poll conducted by YouGov for LBC made no reference to a referendum, asking ’Do you think Britain’s future is best served by being in or out of the EU?’, with 45% opting for being in and 34% for being out.
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Ipsos Mori have asked a similar question, with polling going further back in time from 1976 to November 2012.
Their last two polls (October 2011 and November 2012) show a similar favour to leaving the EU. But the trends highlight how much opinion has fluctuated over the decades – although the phrasing of the question has changed over this period too so it’s possible this has had an impact.
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Opinion in favour of remaining in EU if terms are renegotiated
The other distinction is how people would vote if the UK’s position within the EU was renegotiated. In this case, YouGov polling finds the majority would want to remain in the EU. But the question is hugely hypothetical and it’s difficult to say how a renegotiated relationship would look in reality.
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Taking a broader view away from the referendum question, a majority felt Britain’s future was best served by staying in the EU and trying to reduce its powers.
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But none of these actually tell us how much the public cares about Europe; the results of which depend on how you ask the question.
The Ipsos MORI’s /0/]Issues Facing Britain index routinely measures what people mention as the most important issues facing the country today. 6% of people mention the common market, EU, Europe, the Euro or the European Constitution among the important issues affecting the country. This peaked in 1997 at 43% in one poll. In contrast, two in five mention the economy.
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The YouGov Issues Index instead provides a list of issues from which respondents are asked to tick the top three most important ones. The proportion opting for Europe here is higher – on 24th to 25th March 2014, 13% of adults ticked Europe in the top three, down from 17% earlier in the month.
Again, Anthony Wells from YouGov thinks the former is the better measure, since asking if an issue is important could encourage people to say yes if they feel they should consider the issue to be important.
Poll finds David Cameron is the most trusted leader on Europe
When it comes to the party leaders, a recent YouGov poll in March 2014 found David Cameron is the most trusted on Europe. But a majority of people (31%) said they did not trust any of the leaders.
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https://fullfact.org/europe/public_opinion_europe_referendum_trust-30845

I think most people are sick of not even having a choice, if the people get to decide then that is democracy in action, I think faith in politicians is at an all time low and the only way that will improve is for them to show the people they are both listening too and acting upon what the people actually want..

I don't get your opening sentence Didge - that a majority of people want us to stay in the EU, when your graph clearly shows that the majority want a referendum before the next election!

Well what would make me laugh is if we do get negotiations to work, what would UKIP do then, as most would vote for us to stay in as seen.
Thus one of their main policies would become very redundant making many others redundant because they are based off leaving the EU

Didge wrote:Well what would make me laugh is if we do get negotiations to work, what would UKIP do then, as most would vote for us to stay in as seen.
Thus one of their main policies would become very redundant making many others redundant because they are based off leaving the EU

Like that's ever going to happen! Meanwhile, in the real world...

THERE will be NO negotiation on the EU's freedom of movement laws, European President Jose Manuel Barroso said today, as he revealed David Cameron has yet to put forward any proposals for treaty change...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/460056/NO-negotiation-of-freedom-of-movement-says-defiant-EU-President-Jose-Manuel-Barroso

"..First she tried to downplay the implications of the speech by making an anodyne statement welcoming democratic debate in member states. Then she announced that questions on Cameron’s speech would be limited to three. A growl came up from the press corps that indicated she should think again. So she took more questions. She just didn’t much answer them.

I asked Pia if she could describe for me any existing mechanism under present treaties by which Britain could claw back powers which have already been surrendered to the EU. She gave only a brief reference to treaty change, then refused to take a follow-up question. Yet giving a follow-up is the usual procedure.

I wasn’t surprised. What the Commission won’t come out and say – because it would hand another weapon to eurosceptics – is that it is legally impossible for any EU institution or EU member states to hand back powers to Britain, even if they want to."

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/the-eu-renegotiation-pantomime/

Tesstacious wrote:

Didge wrote:Well what would make me laugh is if we do get negotiations to work, what would UKIP do then, as most would vote for us to stay in as seen.
Thus one of their main policies would become very redundant making many others redundant because they are based off leaving the EU

Like that's ever going to happen!  Meanwhile, in the real world...

THERE will be NO negotiation on the EU's freedom of movement laws, European President Jose Manuel Barroso said today, as he revealed David Cameron has yet to put forward any proposals for treaty change...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/460056/NO-negotiation-of-freedom-of-movement-says-defiant-EU-President-Jose-Manuel-Barroso

"..First she tried to downplay the implications of the speech by making an anodyne statement welcoming democratic debate in member states. Then she announced that questions on Cameron’s speech would be limited to three. A growl came up from the press corps that indicated she should think again. So she took more questions. She just didn’t much answer them.

I asked Pia if she could describe for me any existing mechanism under present treaties by which Britain could claw back powers which have already been surrendered to the EU. She gave only a brief reference to treaty change, then refused to take a follow-up question. Yet giving a follow-up is the usual procedure.

I wasn’t surprised. What the Commission won’t come out and say – because it would hand another weapon to eurosceptics – is that it is legally impossible for any EU institution or EU member states to hand back powers to Britain, even if they want to."

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/the-eu-renegotiation-pantomime/

He may well say that but if other countries join in of which others seem to be doing so, then they will have to listen Tess.
He is one person and again all of this is media hype

I see the "renegotiation" red herring is doing its job well - people are all happy to stay with renegotiated powers not realizing that the very basis of the EU means renegotiation is just not possible.

Didge - they will not have to listen any more than they had to listen to the rioters in Greece. This is what some of the people in UKIP have been trying to tell people for over 30 years. The rules are solid - and the power is with the commissioners. They will have to listen the way Kim Jong Un has to listen

Didge wrote:

Tesstacious wrote:

Like that's ever going to happen!  Meanwhile, in the real world...

THERE will be NO negotiation on the EU's freedom of movement laws, European President Jose Manuel Barroso said today, as he revealed David Cameron has yet to put forward any proposals for treaty change...

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/460056/NO-negotiation-of-freedom-of-movement-says-defiant-EU-President-Jose-Manuel-Barroso

"..First she tried to downplay the implications of the speech by making an anodyne statement welcoming democratic debate in member states. Then she announced that questions on Cameron’s speech would be limited to three. A growl came up from the press corps that indicated she should think again. So she took more questions. She just didn’t much answer them.

I asked Pia if she could describe for me any existing mechanism under present treaties by which Britain could claw back powers which have already been surrendered to the EU. She gave only a brief reference to treaty change, then refused to take a follow-up question. Yet giving a follow-up is the usual procedure.

I wasn’t surprised. What the Commission won’t come out and say – because it would hand another weapon to eurosceptics – is that it is legally impossible for any EU institution or EU member states to hand back powers to Britain, even if they want to."

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/the-eu-renegotiation-pantomime/

He may well say that but if other countries join in of which others seem to be doing so, then they will have to listen Tess.
He is one person and again all of this is media hype

Didge - it's not "media hype" - IT'S LAW!

as Britain only ever joined the common market by choice and heath admitted he cooked the books to make sure we joined, from there we were bound in to the eu with no vote for the people, would the whole joining of the eu be binding legally if it came to the point of a legal battle to get out..