Polling companies have been tracking voting intentions and attitudes for years and I knew that around the 2010 election the EU was not seen as a very important issue. I didn't realise though how few voters thought it was at the top of the list. This polling report (HERE) from October 2011 is interesting. It shows that attitudes in general to Europe were not good, with 45% of people thinking membership of the EU was negative and only 22% were positive. I think this shows the stuff pumped out for years by the press about immigration and bent bananas was having an effect.
No one was presenting a positive case for the EU or explaining the reasoning behind harmonising regulations and so on. However, the negative attitudes only came out when people were asked specifically about Europe. When asked to list the most important issue facing the country very few people cited Europe. From the polling report:
The best regular measure of salience is Ipsos MORI’s monthly issues tracker, since it is entirely unprompted. MORI ask people what they think the most important issue is facing the country, and what other important issues there are facing the country. Europe normally rates very, very low on this survey. In September 3% of people counted Europe as an important issue facing the country, which is typical of the last five years.
I am staggered that Europe was so low down in 2011. Barely anyone thought it was an important issue and yet now it has the capacity to tear the nation apart. It is quite amazing and shows once again what a stupid decision it was to offer a referendum.
If there is a silver lining, at least we are now beginning to debate the EU and what it means for us here in the UK in massive detail. And paradoxically when we leave in March 2019 the great majority of people will understand the EU like never before and may finally realise what is being lost.
