53 percent of British voters want to leave the EU. Barack Obama and David Cameron should take note

More than half of British voters would choose to leave the European Union if given the chance to take part in a referendum today, according to a new Times/Populus poll. Among Tory supporters, 56 percent would vote to leave, and even 37 percent of Labour voters and 35 percent of Liberal Democrats would opt to get out of the EU as well. If “don’t knows” are included in the survey, 40 percent of Britons would vote to leave, 37 percent would stay, and 23 percent are undecided.

This is the latest in a series of polls which show that British public opinion has swung firmly in favour of an EU exit. Worryingly for the prime minister, his landmark speech on Europe earlier this week has not improved his prospects at the next general election, with 71 percent of voters saying it made no difference to their vote, and 16 percent saying it made them less likely to vote Tory. Just 13 percent said Cameron’s speech made it more likely they would vote for the Conservatives in 2015. Among UKIP voters, just 8 percent said they were now more likely to vote Tory, with 17 percent declaring that it made them less likely to vote Tory, while 75 percent remained unmoved.

The Populus poll offers further evidence that David Cameron’s decision to fight for Britain to remain in the EU goes against a majority of his own party, as well as the country. It will strengthen the hand of several Thatcherite Cabinet ministers who are keen on Britain leaving the European Union, and will put pressure on Downing Street to reassess its strategy on the EU membership issue.

In his Bloomberg speech, Mr. Cameron cited the White House's emphaticand outspoken opposition to Britain leaving the EU, in defending his own decision to campaign for Britain to remain in the Union. It would be wise for President Obama and his Eurofederalist advisers in the State Department to take note of this latest poll, and a series of other recent surveys, which show that the British electorate are increasingly fed up with being tied to an undemocratic and unaccountable European Union. The doomed European Project isn’t in Britain’s interest, and nor is it in America’s. It is time for Barack Obama and David Cameron to both acknowledge this reality.