PUBLIC BACK EURO VOTE

10.34.48am GMT Tue 4th Mar 2008

Liberal Democrats in St Austell & Newquay are stepping up their call for a referendum on whether the UK should be in or out of the European Union.

This follows the publication of a new opinion poll by Ipsos-MORI showing people strongly prefer the Liberal Democrat call for a referendum on membership of the European Union, rather than the Conservative proposal for a referendum only on the Lisbon Treaty.

Commenting on the poll, Stephen Gilbert, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for St Austell & Newquay, said:

"This polls shows strong support for the Liberal Democrat view that people should be given a say on the real issue of whether Britain stays in the EU, not the narrow and nerdy issue of the Lisbon Treaty."

Anyone under the age of 51 has not had the chance to vote on the UK being in or out of Europe.

Stephen Gilbert added: "So far Labour and the Conservatives have joined together to stop a referendum on Europe. The Conservatives want a vote only on the specific details of the Lisbon Treaty and the Labour Party is terrified of the debate and wants no referendum at all."

"It's time for the Westminster establishment to stop avoiding this issue."

The opinion poll, which was carried out by top polling organisation Ipsos-MORI, 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 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 (the Liberal Democrat proposal) against 28% who favour a referendum only on the Lisbon Treaty (the Conservative proposal).