Nick Clegg admits that the EU is a turn-off to voters
NICK Clegg yesterday admitted voters feel “remote” from the European Union as it was revealed that hardly anyone knows the name of their Euro MP.
The Liberal Democrat leader, recently trounced in TV debates on Britain’s membership of the EU by Ukip’s Nigel Farage, conceded the public does not believe it is part of their daily lives.
His remarks come as 93 per cent of voters told a poll they had no idea who their MEP was and 84 per cent did not know the date of next month’s Euro elections.
Eight out of 10 did not know how many countries were in the EU, the YouGov/Sun poll found.
At his monthly Whitehall press conference the Deputy Prime Minister said: “It doesn’t entirely surprise me that people feel that what goes on in the EU is remote from their daily lives.
I don’t think two debates between me and Nigel Farage would reverse 20 years of misinformation
“We’ve had 20 years of one-way traffic about what the EU is, what the UK’s place is in it and what obligations it places on us.”
He said: “I don’t think two debates between me and Nigel Farage would reverse 20 years of misinformation.
"But it’s important the debate has started.”
Ukip’s membership is expected to exceed 36,000 this week after applications soared following the TV debates.
The Lib Dems have about 44,000 members.