Making Europe an election issue

Parliamentary candidates quizzed on Britain's EU membership

Will the next General Election bring more Eurosceptics into the House of Commons? That's what the Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIB) - the cross-party anti-EU organisation - is aiming to discover through a major new initiative that it is rolling-out to constituencies throughout the UK.

Candidate2010.com will call on more than 2,500 would-be MPs to share with the electorate their views on the question of Britain’s future relationship with the European Union. While opinion polls show that the great majority of Britons believe the UK would be better off out of the EU, this view is currently not reflected by the majority of MPs or by leadership of the three main parties.

CIB Chairman George West explains: "The forthcoming General Election will see a large-scale influx of new MPs. Many of our current representatives are standing down this year - some of them due to the expenses scandal - and others will be defeated. So, whether or not there is a change of government, there is certain to be a transformation in the composition of the House of Commons.

"Candidates of all parties are already jockeying for position in their local media, sharing with us their views on everything from global warming to the siting of the local Tesco. But on the most important issue of all – that of whether Britain should be a free, sovereign nation, or a mere province of the European Union – there is huge diversity of opinion within the main parties.

"That is why Candidate2010.com is challenging individual Parliamentary candidates from across the political spectrum to tell their constituents precisely where they stand on this pivotal issue. Through Candidate2010.com voters can track candidates' attitudes to Europe. .

"We are calling on individual constituents to write to their would-be MPs to find out where they stand. Although Candidate2010 doesn’t urge people to vote for any particular party, those candidates who include in their election address a specific pledge to work towards the UK's withdrawal from the European Union stand to gain many extra votes, as opinion poll after opinion poll shows that the overwhelming majority of the British electorate dislikes the fact that this country is being dragged deeper into the EU.

"Whether or not the main parties want to face up to this all-important subject,CIB intends to ensure that the EU is a major issue in the 2010 General Election."

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

* Send the press release above to your local newspaper
* Visit Candidate2010 at www.candidate2010.com (username and password=’guest’)