Two-thirds of voters want a referendum on British membership of the European Union before the next general election, a new opinion poll has found.
The Telegraph 10:26AM BST 09 Jul 2012
The results are a blow to David Cameron, who last week said that while he was prepared to call a referendum at some point, now was not the time given the economic crisis facing the Eurozone.
He rejected a call by many Conservative backbenchers for the issue to be put to voters before or at the general election, which is due to be held in 2015.
The poll, by YouGov for The Sun newspaper, found that only 29 per cent of the public backed the Prime Minister's "wait and see" stance.
In total, 67 per cent wanted a referendum within the next few years while 19 per cent did not and 14 per cent were unsure.
If given a choice today, nearly half, 48 per cent, would favour British withdrawal from the EU compared to 31 per cent who want to remain within the Union.
However, if Mr Cameron is able to carry out his promise to renegotiate Britain's role within Europe, a significant majority would support staying in the EU, by 42 per cent to 34 per cent. The rest are unsure.
The poll also found that 65 per cent of voters wanted the Prime Minister to set out a clear timetable stating which powers he wishes to see returned to Britain from Brussels, and when he hoped to achieve this. Only 24 per cent backed him to negotiate new terms "when the time is right".
Last week, Mr Cameron called on his party to show "patience" over the referendum issue. Asked if they trusted him to deliver a referendum after renegotiating a fresh settlement with Europe, only 29 per cent of voters said they gave their "total trust," while 32 per cent said they "do not trust at all" and 30 per cent "do not trust a lot".
Overall, just 23 per cent said that British membership of the EU was a "good thing," compared to 36 per cent when the same question was posed eight years ago. Another 43 per cent said it was a "bad thing," compared to 33 per cent in 2008.
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