23 February 2016 Comment
To date, the opinion polls have left us a very uncertain picture of the referendum race. Most phone polls suggest that Remain are well ahead, while nearly every internet poll reckons the two sides are more or less neck and neck. Meanwhile, relatively few polls have asked enough questions about people’s perceptions of the consequences […]
21 February 2016 Comment Migration and freedom of movement The renegotiations
David Cameron eventually secured (what he regarded as) a successful conclusion to his attempt to renegotiate aspects of Britain’s relationship with the EU over dinner in Brussels on Friday evening. Yesterday he gained approval for this deal from a majority of his cabinet and announced that the referendum will take place, as anticipated, on 23 […]
18 February 2016 Comment Migration and freedom of movement Perceived consequences of leaving the EU The economic debate The EU Referendum The renegotiations
Doubtless the Prime Minister will have had plenty to read on his journey to today’s vital European Council meeting in Brussels. Most of his reading material will, of course, have been about the stances of his fellow leaders on the outstanding issues in the renegotiation and how their concerns might be met. But maybe also […]
5 February 2016 Comment The EU Referendum The renegotiations
Fine as far as it goes – but it does not go far enough. That seems to be the message from voters on the draft deal that Mr Cameron has negotiated with Donald Tusk, President of the European Council – at least if a poll from YouGov for today’s Times, the first to be conducted since the […]
28 January 2016 Comment Migration and freedom of movement The economic debate The EU Referendum
What are the issues that matter most to voters in the EU referendum campaign? This kind of question is often addressed in opinion polls by asking people directly which are the issues that matter most to them in whatever vote is about to take place. However, approaching the question this way assumes that voters are […]
17 January 2016 Comment The EU Referendum
One of the points of contention between the two sides of the EU referendum debate is whether a vote to leave the UK would potentially constitute a threat to the future of the Union. The former Conservative leader, Lord Hague, was accused by those in the Leave camp of peddling a scare story when over […]
22 December 2015 Comment Migration and freedom of movement The EU Referendum
The public has become acutely aware of changes in immigration rates and attributes these changes to the UK’s membership of the European Union. This has been a direct consequence of the growth of immigration from the EU accession countries in Eastern and Central Europe. Inevitably, this process has important implications for the likelihood of a […]
16 December 2015 Comment The EU Referendum The renegotiations
The uncertainty surrounding just how close the referendum race really is has grown today with the publication of two further polls of referendum vote intention, one from ComRes for the Open Europe think tank, the other from Ipsos MORI for the Evening Standard. In contrast to the picture of a very tight race painted by […]
16 December 2015 Comment Migration and freedom of movement The EU Referendum The renegotiations
Two polls released yesterday helped create a flurry of excitement in advance of this week’s meeting of the European Council at which, we are promised, the renegotiation of Britain’s terms of membership will be on the agenda. One, from Survation, suggested that Leave were narrowly ahead (by 51% to 49%), while the other, from ICM, […]
15 December 2015 Comment The EU Referendum
In the latest in Chatham House’s series of podcasts exploring the key questions in the lead-up to the EU Referendum, I speak to regular What UK Thinks: EU contributor Professor Matthew Goodwin about the current state of public attitudes towards membership of the EU, what lessons can be learned from the Scottish referendum, and how close […]
