Doubt over Cameron's pledge on EU

Lord Ashcroft has told the Sun on Sunday: “Many like David Cameron’s plan to negotiate better terms for Britain".

The trouble is his poll shows, three-quarters of them doubt it will work. Most of the pessimists think other countries will not be prepared to make concessions to Britain however well the PM argues the case.

Nearly three-quarters of people do not believe David Cameron will be able to deliver on his promise to claw back powers from the EU, according to a poll.

Some 51% think other members will block reforms, while 26% doubt the Prime Minister’s skills as a negotiator.

Almost one in four suspects he wants to stay in the union even if Britain does not achieve a better deal.

The findings – which cast doubt on the electoral effectiveness of Mr Cameron’s pledge of an in-out referendum by 2017 – come from a major piece of research commissioned by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft.

Of the 20,000 people questioned, around two-thirds said other countries benefited more from the EU than the UK.

Some 49% thought the drawbacks of being a member outweighed the advantages - compared to 31% who said the opposite and 20% who were not sure either way.

Just one in 10 could name an MEP in their area.

The European Parliament came fourth from bottom in a league table of 27 “liked” countries and institutions.

Only Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Korea were placed below it.

The survey also suggested people had a more positive view of Russia than of the European Union.