Lib Dem voters on EU membership: 31% want to stay - 42% want to leave

Here are some results from a fresh poll from Angus Reid on the attitude of British citizens to the EU (an online survey of a representative national sample of 2,002 British adults):

• In the event of a referendum on the UK’s EU membership, nearly half of Britons (48%) would vote in favour of pulling out, while 27% would vote to stay.

• Interestingly, 42% of Lib Dem voters would vote for the UK to leave the EU in a referendum (65% of Tories, 36% of Labour) against only 31% who said they want Britain to stay.
  

• 59% say EU membership has been moderately negative or very negative for the UK (30% and 29% respectively).

• Since June, the proportion of Britons who say the EU has been very positive for the UK has dropped from 7% to 4%. Back then, 31% regarded it as moderately positive, versus only 25% now.

• 80% would vote in favour of the UK maintaining the pound.
  

• 34% of 18 to 34 year olds feel the EU’s effect on the UK has been negative. 37% of them would vote to stay, while 32% would vote for the UK to leave.

See the full poll here. As with other poll results, it's clear that the EU's popularity continues to drop.

But the most interesting result is that Lib Dem voters - whose party often is presented as the UK's last europhile outpost - would come out against EU membership in such great numbers if faced with a referendum.

It just goes to show, in regards to the EU, there is a disconnect between the grassroots and the party leadership, and splits within the party on the issue might not only be a Tory phenomenon...