‘Most Brits support EU membership’

Support for European Union (EU) membership has reached its highest level since 1991, with most Brits opting for staying in the single market, a new poll shows.

According to Ipsos MORI, the second largest survey research organization in the UK, support for the European Union has grown in Britain, shattering perceptions that the UK is edging closer towards an exit from the 28-member bloc.

Fifty-six percent of the poll respondents said they would remain in the EU, an increase from 44 percent in 2012.

Only 36 percent said they would leave, down from 48 percent in 2012. Eight percent were undecided.

“With the debate about Britain’s relationship with the EU a hot topic right now, our poll shows support for Britain’s membership is up significantly since the depths of the Eurozone debt crisis in 2011 – although that does not mean that the public simply want the relationship to stay the same,” said Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a renegotiation of UK’s EU membership terms, saying that the reforms are crucial to persuading Britain to stay in the bloc.

Meanwhile, Britain’s anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) wants an exit from the European Union and seeks to reduce the inflow of immigrants to the country.

The Eurosceptic party has grown rapidly over the past decade, mostly by winning voters of the Conservative Party.

The Ipsos MORI poll was conducted October 11-14 and surveyed 1,002 adults in Britain.

GMA/AB/SS