New figures, commissioned by the We Demand a Referendum Now Party,
show that 70% of the British people want a vote on EU membership.
Just one in ten (10%) of the British public believe that Britain should not have a referendum at all.
In a further blow to Cameron’s Conservative party, 64% of British
people want a referendum in the next two years, long before the Prime
Minister’s proposed 2017 vote. This includes 42% of the public who
believe the vote should be held within the next year.
According to the ComRes poll, just 6% say that a referendum should be held within a period of two to five years.
The results examining public attitudes towards the negotiation of
powers with the European Union, will come as an even bigger blow to the
Prime Minister on the eve of the Conservative conference.
26% of those surveyed want powers surrounding Freedom of
Movement/Immigration brought back home, while 20% believe we need to
reclaim powers that make EU law supercede our own law makers in
Westminster. Other powers that people would like to reclaim include
control of VAT on domestic fuel, agriculture and fisheries and EU
taxation.
The new survey shows that the powers that the British people would like
to repatriate are ones that are impossible to renegotiate without a
treaty change.
We Demand a Referendum Now MEP Nikki Sinclaire said,
“You’re wrong Mr Cameron: Numbers of people wanting a referendum
continues to rise, despite the vain attempts of David Cameron to quieten
the voices of those demanding a say.
These findings show that people want a referendum sooner rather than
later and Cameron’s reasons for not giving the people a say, are simply
not valid.
It has also become clear that the powers that the British people actually want to bring back are impossible.
72% of people believe that we need to repatriate powers back to the
UK. These poll results show that David Cameron’s position of
repatriation of powers from the European Union does not hold water, as
the real powers that the people wish to bring back, are not possible
whilst staying inside the EU.
Powers that control freedom of movement, for example, could only be
repatriated after a treaty change that would need to be unanimously
agreed upon by all 28 member states – Ireland would even need a
referendum on the decision to change the treaty! We have no room to
renegotiate.
If these are the powers that the people want to bring home, yet they
are impossible, then why is Cameron trying to pull the wool over the
electorates eyes and delay the inevitable?
The majority of people want a referendum sooner rather than later.
Just 6% support Cameron’s 2017 referendum – what happened to listening
to what the people really want?
Those who believe a referendum is necessary is now 7 in 10, yet those
who do not want a referendum are decreasing, and are now just 1 in 10.
It is time for the Prime Minister to grasp the nettle on this subject and give the people the chance to decide. “.
ComRes interviewed 2,049 GB adults online between 20th and 22nd
September 2013. Data were weighted to be representative of all GB adults
aged 18+.
