Euroscepticism in the UK
Article
From the vociferousness of the debate in the UK press in recent weeks, one could be excused for thinking that Europe was dominating discussions around the country, as indeed it has done at various points over the last two decades.
But Ipsos-MORI's most recent Issues Index recorded only 1 per cent of respondents indicating the common market, EU, Europe and the euro as the most important issue facing Britain today. Taken together, recent survey evidence suggests that while voters clearly lack knowledge of and support for the EU as an institution, they still recognise the case for a supranational body at the European level covering a wide range of issues.
These findings do not dismiss the strongly held views of many Brits in relation to Europe nor the need for institutional reform, but it does suggest that the nature of euroscepticism in the UK may be more nuanced that the current media debate implies.
Related items
One year in: the government is making decent down payments for the years ahead
It’s fair to say it hasn’t been a straightforward first year for the government.Britons back local leaders with fiscal firepower
“Death and taxes,” they say, are life’s only certainties. But there’s a third - wherever taxes are controlled, power lies.Filling the funding gap: at what cost to Scotland’s public services?
Last week the Scottish government published its delayed Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which ‘provides the economic, funding and spending outlooks for the financial years 2025/26 to 2029/30’ and ‘the Government’s fiscal strategy to…