Today’s Lib Dem attack on their coalition partners comes from Chris Huhne, who rails against a “Tea Party tendency” in Conservatives sceptical
of the European Union. His premise is that those who are hostile to the EU are a minority. It’s worth digging a little deeper here, because the opposite is true. If you believe that Britain has
benefited from EU membership, you’re in a smallish minority – 35 per cent to be precise. Huhne seems genuinely unaware of the depth of feeling out there.
CoffeeHousers may be familiar with opinion polls commissioned by eurosceptic groups. But – as we say in the leading article of this week’s Spectator – the European Commission can hardly be accused of an anti-EU bias. In May, it conducted its latest biannual Eurobarometer poll [, the largest of its type in the world, asking the same questions of the 27 member states. The results show that Euroscepticism is the mainstream view in Britain.
Just over half of Brits say the UK “has not benefited” from its membership of the EU – against the 35 per cent who say it has:
The EC also asks whether its respondents “tend to trust” the EU or not: just 24 per cent of Brits say they do. We are by far the most eurosceptic nation on this measure; next up is Greece on 32 per cent:
And when it comes to their overall view of the EU, Brits are again the least positive about it, and by some margin:
I cannot think of any other issue where the Westminster consensus is so far removed from public opinion. Huhne seems genuinely unaware that his is the minority voice. And that the question is not whether Britain should enter the Euro, but whether we should leave the European Union entirely. A debate you simply won’t hear in Westminster.
But you will hear it in South Kensington tonight, where The Spectator is hosting a debate on the motion “It’s time to leave the EU“. Denis MacShane and Phillip Souta will say no and Dan Hannan, Christopher Booker and Frederick Forsyth will say yes. To ensure impartiality, it’s being chaired by Rod Liddle.
I hope some CoffeeHousers will be able to join us.
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