If you had to guess which political party’s supporters were most in favour of sharing our aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons testing with the French, which would you go for?
According to a YouGov poll a few days ago, those who say they’ll vote for the traditionally internationalist and pro-European Lib Dems are clearly in favour (58-36) but – what’s this?
Even more in favour are Conservative voters, by nearly two to one (it’s 61-34 with 5% don’t knows).
I wrote a few days ago that whether we approve of a policy has far more than we’d like to admit to do with whether it comes from the party or faction we support.
I wonder how many Conservative voters would have been in favour of this plan to share our military sovereignty with the French if it had come from Labour. And whether more Labour voters would have favoured it.
The poll conducted by YouGov on 2nd-3rd November 2010 found 48% of all voters favoured the plan, with 40% against. Conservative voters were 61-34 in favour, Lib Dem voters 58-36 in favour and Labour voters 47-44 in favour.
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6 Comments
It would also be worth finding out how many people actually feel strongly about this. I am inclined to think that very few people do, and that there is not much you can read into this.
The important point to conservatives is that its a choice between co-operate with the French or loose the ability to project force on the world stage. If the boot had been on the other foot and it was a Labour government’s proposition more conservatives would be objecting to any cuts in the armed forces that make this deal a necessity.
A pity the policy didn’t come from us then and we are not presenting it, so far as I can see, as an LD success.
Oddly, this whole plan hasn’t appeared once in the papers here in France in the last week (to my knowledge). May have to get on the line to Le Monde and see what they think about joining up with the ‘ancien ennemi’.
Hmm… Testing our nuclear weapons on France…
…I mean, in France….
I mean, with France.
I think the share defence strategy with the French under NATO was first mooted by David Steel when Liberal Leader.
I discern from the press that there was a hard lobby from L/D Ministers to maintain the order for the 2 Aircraft Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers and their building will consolidate vital skilled jobs in dock yards.
There has to be an interim Defence strategy to explain how British interests are being protected by a flexible armed conventional wing force at Sea, until the carriers are completed.