Only one third of respondents believe EU membership has been positive for the United Kingdom.

The level of animosity towards the European Union (EU) in Britain remains high, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll, published July 12, 2011, has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,003 British adults, a majority of respondents (57%) believe that EU membership has been negative for the United Kingdom, while only one third (32%) think it has had a positive effect. The wording of the question was: ”Overall, do you think EU membership has been positive or negative for the United Kingdom?”

Respondents aged 18-to-34 are more likely to express positive feelings about the EU (45%) than those aged 35-to-54 (31%) and those over the age of 55 (22%). Half of Britons (49%) say they would vote against the United Kingdom remaining a member of the EU if a referendum took place, while only one-in-four (25%) would vote to stay. Older respondents favour the idea of abandoning the EU by a 3-to-1 margin (68% to 19%).

Finally, Britons oppose the notion of the UK adopting the euro as its national currency by a 10-to-1 margin, with 81 per cent of respondents saying they would reject this course of action in a referendum.

Download Full Tables here, pdf.

See more at Angus Reid Public Opinion.