Public Back Liberal Democrat Position on EU Referendum By Margin of Over 2:1

10.58.00pm GMT Mon 3rd Mar 2008

The public strongly prefer the Liberal Democrats' call for a referendum on membership of the European Union, rather than the Conservative proposal for a referendum only on the Lisbon Treaty, according to an opinion survey carried out by Ipsos MORI. The Ipsos MORI poll showed that 54% of the public favoured a referendum on EU membership, 27% were against a referendum and 19% did not express an opinion.

The opinion poll clearly shows that the Liberal Democrats are the only political party on the side of the British public on the European referendum. People want an honest debate about our future in Europe, and are not fooled by Tory nit-picking on a single Treaty.

The fact is that no one under the age of 51 has had their say on Europe. The only way to settle the matter is a straight in-out referendum about our membership. The Liberal Democrats would relish the opportunity to put the case to the British people for our wholehearted commitment to the EU.

Notes:

· Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,026 adults in Great Britain aged 18+.

· Interviews were conducted by telephone between 21st and 26th February 2008.

· Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

· Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of "don't know" categories, or multiple answers. Throughout the volume, an asterisk (*) denotes any value of less than half a per cent.

Unless otherwise stated, results are based on all respondents (1,026).

Headline results are below. Full tables are available on Ipsos MORI website www.ipsos-mori.com

The Ipsos MORI poll showed that 54% of the public favoured a referendum on EU membership, 27% were against a referendum and 19% did not express an opinion.

When asked - 'if there were to be a referendum on Britain's relationship with Europe, would you prefer it to be a referendum only on the Lisbon Treaty, or a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union?' - the public preferred a membership referendum by a margin of more than 2:1.

When only the views of those who are able to give an opinion about what sort of referendum they want are included, 58% back a referendum on EU membership against 28% who favour a referendum only on the Lisbon Treaty.