Voters back Cameron on Europe

Labour’s lead has halved after the Prime Minister’s speech on Europe this week, according to a ComRes opinion poll for tomorrow’s Independent on Sunday and Sunday Mirror. The Conservatives have gained support at the expense of UKIP, while David Cameron’s personal ratings have risen.

Conservative   33% (+5)

Labour             39% (-)

Lib Dem         11% (+2)

UKIP              10% (-4)

Others             7% (-2)

Change since last ComRes online poll, for IoS/SM, December.

Cameron versus Miliband

David Cameron is good at standing up for Britain’s interests in the European Union

Agree: 42% Disagree: 33%

Three quarters (76%) of Conservative voters and half (53%) of Liberal Democrats agree.

If Ed Miliband were prime minister, he would be good at standing up for Britain’s interests in the EU

Agree: 22% Disagree: 44%

Just half (51%) of Labour voters, 5% of Conservative voters and 14% of Liberal Democrats agree.

David Cameron is turning out to be a good Prime Minister

Agree: 32% (+5) Disagree: 46% (-6)

Change since last month. This is his best net score (-14) since June 2011.

Europe

If a referendum were held on Britain’s membership of the EU, I would vote for Britain to leave the EU

Agree: 43% (-3) Disagree: 31% (+1)

Change since May 2012.

If some EU powers cannot be restored to the UK, we should leave the EU

Agree: 57% (-1) Disagree: 21% (+3)

Change since November. Half (50%) of Labour voters agree, as do 65% of Conservative voters and 47% of Liberal Democrat voters.

The UK should leave the EU regardless

Agree: 33% (-10) Disagree: 43% (+10)

Change since November. This sharp change may reflect confidence that the UK will be able to negotiate better terms.

Leaving the European Union would be bad for the British economy in terms of lost jobs and trade

Agree: 38% (+2) Disagree: 36% (-4)

Change since May 2012.

By promising a referendum on Europe in the future, David Cameron is causing years of uncertainty which will be bad for the British economy

Agree: 43% Disagree: 30%

One in five (21%) Conservative voters agree.

I expect a Labour Government under Ed Miliband would try to abolish the pound and replace it with the euro

Agree: 30% Disagree: 32% Don’t know: 38%

Afghanistan and al-Qa’ida

Prince Harry talking about killing Taliban will make it more dangerous for British soldiers in Afghanistan

Agree: 36% Disagree: 45%

Prince William should be allowed to serve with the RAF in Afghanistan

Agree: 61% Disagree: 22%

Men (67%) are more likely than women (56%) to agree.

Britain should send military advisers and special forces to North Africa to fight al-Qa’ida terrorists, but not regular soldiers

Agree: 41% Disagree: 26%

Men (49%) are more likely to agree than women (33%).

British intervention in North Africa against al-Qa’ida would make Britain a target for terrorists

Agree: 65% Disagree: 13%

David Cameron is right to say that Britain must be prepared to fight al-Qa’ida terrorism for a generation

Agree: 55% Disagree: 22%

Other Questions

Schools are closing too easily because of snow

Agree: 70% Disagree: 21%

Doubling the price of a lottery ticket is unfair

Agree: 68% Disagree: 20%

More than three quarters (79%) of people from social group C2 agree – the highest of any social group.

ComRes interviewed 2,035 GB adults online on 23-25 January 2013. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults and by past vote recall. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full tables at ComRes.

Photograph: Reuters

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• porkfright

  Well it could just be possible that this result is exactly what the PM’s speech was intended for. Not much happens by accident, as I always aver.

• Junius

  The YouGov poll for the Sunday Times also shows a surge in support for the Tories, again at the expense of UKIP and other minor parties. Again, Labour support remains solid, which is the salient point.

  It is a point missed – or perhaps conveniently ignored – by political commentators who doggedly insist that Ed Miliband has been wrongfooted after asserting that a referendum on the EU is not in the interests of the country. Wish is father to their thought. The ComRes poll shows a majority for staying in; the latest YouGov poll on Europe shows a majority for staying in; and in one Ipsos Mori Issues Index after another, when asked Which issue is most important to Britain today? just one person in one hundred mentions Europe; when asked a supplementary What other issues are important to Britain today? the number mentioning Europe rises to just six in one hundred.

  One of those political commenters this morning asks: how can the leader of “One Nation Labour” deny the nation a vote on its future in Europe? Because, except among a small minority of vociferous Europhobes, there is no appetite, much less demand, for such a vote. A vote, furthermore, which would come at the end of a campaign inevitably creating a period of uncertainty and instability, prolonging if not threatening the nation’s economic recovery.

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