This might seem a very odd question. A pro-EU position is part of the party’s
internationalist DNA. Listen to any EU-related speech by the likes of Nick Clegg or Paddy Ashdown and heartfelt support for the European project is apparent.
The Liberal Democrats have also made a virtue of reining in Tory euroscepticism, for example rejecting a call for repatriation of powers in the Coalition Agreement. The Deputy Prime Minister remains, in private and public, pro-EU. And to many activists and MPs, the party’s European stance is what makes it different to the Tories – and is the reason why they are Lib Dems. They see in Tory euroscepticism a boorish Little Englanderness they abhor and find out of synch with the way of the modern world.
But look closer and a change seems to be underway. Many of the party’s younger MPs – especially in the West Country – reflect the concerns of their electorates, which means they either do not particularly care about the EU or are more sceptical than their political forebears.
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