Grassroots to new Eurosceptic group of Tory MPs; 'Be bold'

By Tim Montgomerie
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Tomorrow eighty Tory MPs are expected to take part in the first meeting of a new Eurosceptic forum. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the group's first recommendation will be that parliament, not ministers, appoints British judges to the European Court of Justice. A neat idea but the message from Tory members is that much, much bolder actions must lie ahead.

60% of Tory members now want out of the Union altogether:

Quoting this new ConservativeHome poll The Sunday Telegraph declares that "Euroscepticism is resurgent within the Tory party". Arguing that Britain should use the Eurozone crisis to renegotiate our relationship with Brussels, it notes that, while the Liberal Democrats may be resistant, the Tory leadership would "have the country firmly behind it".

The ConHome poll is certainly in line with earlier polling of Tory voters and the wider public. Angus Reid found that 66% of Tory voters want to leave the EU and 49% of all voters.

In terms of a negotiating strategy for William Hague and David Cameron there's 67% to 26% support for 'The Redwood Option' of Britain giving up its veto over what other EU nations do together and in return Britain getting the right to opt out of any part of the EU that we chose.

Fiscal union gets a big thumbs down. Asked "do you think that the eurozone must break up, at least in part, or do you think it can be held together by the stronger countries like Germany doing more to help the weaker countries like Greece?", 75% answered it should break up, at least in part. Only 17% agreed with George Osborne's public position that "it should stay together and be held together by greater fiscal solidarity".