Europe not the biggest issue, say polls

Lord Mandelson spoke about Europe on the Today Programme this morning ahead of Labour leader Ed Miliband's speech, pointing out that in spite of the headlines, every opinion poll indicates that Europe is not the major deciding issue for most people.

Ipsos MORI's Issues Facing Britain index routinely measures what people mention as the most important issues facing the country today, and they back this up. 6% of people mention the common market, EU, Europe, the Euro or the European Constitution among the important issues affecting the country. This peaked in 1997 at 43% in one poll. In contrast, two in five mention the economy.

Only 2% of people said the subject was the "most" important issue facing the country, compared to one in five opting for the economy.