Who speaks for England?
The Conservative Party risks losing the trust of voters as the party best placed to defend Englishness, delegates at the party's conference have heard. The claim by researchers from Cardiff and Edinburgh universities comes in response to data revealing a decline in the perception that the Conservatives are best able to stand up for England. The findings, taken from the latest Future of England survey were presented at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party's Annual Conference in Birmingham, on 4th October. Despite this lack of trust, Conservative Party policies on the governance of England enjoy substantial support among the electorate, with 'English Votes for English Laws' always the most popular option. The latest evidence is consistent with previous survey findings, indicating ongoing bitterness about the perceived benefits that other UK nations - in particular Scotland - receive from being part of the Union. The survey also found a close relationship between attitudes towards UK membership of the European Union and attitudes toward England's place in the UK, with a majority of those identifying as "English not British" intending to vote for the UK to leave EU, whereas those who identified predominantly or exclusively as British more likely to vote to remain. With the EU referendum result exposing new fault lines between the nations of the UK, the survey presents fresh evidence on the challenges facing the Prime Minister as the UK prepares to negotiate its withdraw from the European Union.
