Press Story

The UK public remain critical of the European Union but want EU countries to co-operate more closely on cross border threats, according to new YouGov polling published in full by the think tank IPPR today.

The polling shows that just 12 per cent believe their voice counts in the EU (75 per cent disagree). But majorities believe that the EU should cooperate more closely on the following issues:

terrorism/international crime (67 per cent to11 per cent)
tackling climate change (52 per cent to 20 per cent)
reducing poverty (51 per cent to 21 per cent)
immigration (45 per cent to 34 per cent)

By contrast, a majority of UK voters think that EU countries should loosen links on the following issues:

national budgets (57 per cent to 13 per cent),
laws on trade unions & strikes (54 per cent to 15 per cent)
weights & measures (48 per cent to 16 per cent)
agriculture (57 per cent to 13 per cent)

Jack Straw MP, Former Foreign Secretary speaking at IPPR, said:

"People understand the value of the EU and what it has produced but they also understand that it should concentrate on those things of value and pull back from those things that can best be left to domestic parliaments and governments. So, to use a clich?, it has got to do less but it's got to do better.

"In my own view, there is now a major democratic deficit within the EU. It is absolutely certain that the mechanism that was established 30 years ago to fill this gap of the democratic deficit - a directly elected European Parliament - has not worked. In my judgment, it cannot work in that form. The paradox is that as the European Parliament has been given more powers it has become less, not more, legitimate. That is shown by the drop in the average turnout across Europe."

Writing for the Left Foot Forward blog, IPPR Associate Director Will Straw says:

"While Brits do not feel that their voice counts in the European Union, there are some areas in which they believe that European countries should cooperate more closely and others where they should loosen links. Constitutional quick fixes and greater political integration are largely rejected."

IPPR Associate, LSE professor Simon Hix, argues that the type of election system used for European Parliament elections affected the turnout. Where open lists are used (Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden), voters are likely to have more contact with their MEPs and turnout is higher.

Notes to Editors

For more details on IPPR's project - After the Euro: where next for the European project? - is available at: http://ippr.org/research-project/44/8095/after-the-euro-crisis-where-next-for-the-european-project

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov-Cambridge. Total sample size was 1,738 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15th - 16th February 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

Contact

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Tim Finch, 07595 920899, t.finch@ippr.org