Take the latest ConservativeHome survey

The latest ConservativeHome survey of Tory grassroots opinion is now live.

In addition to the regular tracker questions on satisfaction levels with David Cameron and leading members of the shadow cabinet there are special questions on...

• The Scotland-England relationship;
• David Cameron's EPP pledge;
• The backbench 'Better Off Out' of the EU campaign;
• The race to become Tory candidate for London Mayor.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART IN THE SURVEY.

Comments

[TC]

One of the questions refers to DC's promise to take Conservative MEPs out of the European Parliament. I assume that 'out of the EPP' is what is meant, unless I have missed some big news...

[Editor]

Oops - yes - that is what is meant. It's being changed now.

Hopefully people will know what was meant - We'll compare the results after the correction with those before to check that that is the case.

[Dr Dan H.]

I'd personally say that the Better Off Out campaign is probably the most important of these issues. As things stand, Britain has next to no influence in the EU. Neither has any other country, apart from "dog in a manger" nay-saying; the unaccountable executive is all-powerful.

The problem is, nobody wants to admit that an unaccountable executive makes the rules.

The logical course of action is to get out, cease throwing money at this monster, and wait for the rest of the members to come to their senses. The economies of EU members are already being crippled by insane regulations, and the Euro is guaranteed to bankrupt most of them.

Frankly, we're better off out of this debacle. We do not need the EU's help with our economy, we don't need them crippling our military, and we don't need their aid.

[Anon]

I disliked the question on withdrawal from Europe. It seems a moderate Euroscetic position along the lines of "Withdrawing would be worse than remaining within the EU, we must try to reform the EU from within." is needed, to allow people to express euroscepticism without indicating they would wish for withdrawal.

But then again, there is a lot of sympathy for "Better Off Out" on this website, and it is very clearly their objective to present a false choice between withdrawal and full-on European integration, for obvious political reasons. It's clear the author of the survey had withdrawal from Europe on his mind :)

[Editor]

The error identified by TC has now been corrected.

[David Belchamber]

Dr Dan H @ 16.46 "The problem is, nobody wants to admit that an unaccountable executive makes the rules".
It is mind boggling that such a situation was allowed to arise in the first place and then that successive governments of this so called democracy have failed to challenge this rather basic point.
Dr Dan's conclusion is logical, given the EU's corruption, gravy train and bureaucracy, together with its drive towards greater federalism and the idiocy of trying to control 25 very disparate economies by means of one standard interest rate.
I am a natural Europhile, culturally and linguistically, but I cannot agree with the single currency and all that it entails.
I suggest that we should wait to see what the voice of reason from a strong conservative government (if we can get one)can do first before seriously considering pulling out.

[Julian Morrison]

The strongest argument against the EU I've ever heard was: what unique good does it do? Is there anything at all the EU's good for, that genuinely couldn't be done as well or better without?

[Ian Williamson]

Dr.Dan H is right. We are the biggest trading partner with the rest of Europe. They have been the principal beneficiaries of that relationship.I know we import more Mercedes, BMW's, Renaults, Volkswagen, champagne and Camembert than ever before, not to mention bloody French footballers, but, apart from those things, what else has the EU done to strengthen our economy? And does anyone really think that European countries would want to make it more difficult to trade with us if we ever did withdraw?

[Jaz]

The european question is a poorly thought out one. It's baiting conservative voters to say "out of the EU" rather than a compromise on the two.

The issue of the EU, economic market is a complicated one that no government will be willing to withdraw from. There are too many unknowns legally and financially to come from withdrawal and it simply isn't worth the hassle.

[Geoff]

Jaz is half-right in my opinion. The question should have been balanced by some EU-evangelist options just in case Lord Heseltine happened to be surfing past.

However I still would have cast my vote for EU exit because that is my firmly held belief and opinion. The fact that it is "a complicated one" is undeniable, "that no government will be willing to withdraw from" is arguably true, but to say that it is worth being destroyed as a nation and bled dry by our European enemies because the alternative "isn't worth the hassle" is a ridiculous extension of the argument.

So in conclusion - for balance, provide more in the way of Eurofanatic options that I can ignore please.