A large proportion of people in Britain appear dissatisfied with their country’s European Union (EU) membership, and a large majority would like to hold a referendum to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 2,005 British adults, 49 per cent think EU membership has been bad for the UK, while 36 per cent think it has been good.

It is interesting to note that the proportion of respondents who rate membership as very bad (24%) is three times higher than that of Britons who believe membership has been very good (8%).

A third of respondents (32%) believe Ireland made a mistake in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty—an international agreement that will change the way the EU functions—while 21 per cent believe the country did the right thing. Still, almost half of Britons (47%) are undecided in their assessment.

Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) believe the UK should hold its own referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite the fact that Parliament ratified the accord in 2008. If a vote were to take place in the next few weeks, decided voters are twice as likely to reject the Lisbon Treaty (35%) than to support its adoption (16%).

Under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, EU leaders will choose a President of the European Council for a two and a half year renewable term. Several names have been mentioned for this position, including former Spanish President Felipe González, current Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Just a third of respondents (32%) support Blair becoming President of the European Council, while almost half (47%) voice opposition. The level of strong support for Blair taking over this new role stands at nine per cent, while strong opposition is four times higher (35%).

CONTACT:

Andy Morris, Research Director, London
Phone: + 44-203-178-3952
Email: andy.morris@visioncritical.com