It is unfashionable to quote polls these days but one recent finding went unremarked even though it is remarkable. It showed that only 15 per cent of members of the Conservative Party want to pull out of the EU. From the noise surrounding the debates on the Referendum Bill you might believe that this is a surprise.
In reality the vast majority of Conservatives at all levels of the Party want Britain to stay in a reformed EU. We believe it is now time for the silent Conservative majority to get behind David Cameron and start to make the case for the UK’s continued membership of the EU and the eventual Yes campaign.
Both of us have always supported a constructive and pragmatic approach to engaging with the EU, based on our political experience in the Westminster and European Parliaments. We also have a personal conviction of the need to pursue cool-headed British national interest.
Start with the economy – the single market is worth £12 trillion, some 50 per cent of British foreign trade is with other EU states.
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