Daily catch-up: How will the newspapers vote in the EU referendum?

Plus another for my collection of unbuilt buildings

John Rentoul
Friday 13 November 2015 09:21 GMT
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Another for my collection of unbuilt buildings: the Battle of Britain monument at Surrey Quays. Proposed as recently as 1988 by architect Theo Crosby, it would have been 160 metres tall, surmounted with a sculpture of a Heinkel bomber crashing alongside a Spitfire. They built a shopping centre, cinema and bowling alley instead. Thanks to Ian Mansfield via Mr Memory.

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with, among others, Chris Deerin and Andrew Lilico about which newspapers will advocate leaving the EU at the referendum. I said in yesterday's Independent that David Cameron had played a canny delaying game, which meant that, when it comes to the moment for people to choose sides – when his negotiations are complete – it would be almost too late for the Outers. They risk finding themselves with few credible leaders and almost no media support.

So far, only the Express and Sunday Express say we should leave. Although the Mail, Sun, Telegraph and Times were scathing this week about Cameron's opening negotiating position, they have held back from the implied conclusion. I think there is a 25 per cent chance that none of them will advocate "leave" when it comes to it. Rupert Murdoch might hedge his bets, with The Sun for Out and The Times neutral, but he is likely to be following opinion rather than shaping it.

Nor is the politics of the Conservative Party membership as clear as I thought it was. I had been influenced by a Conservative Home survey of party members this month that found 75 per cent of them inclined to vote Out (excluding don't knows). But a YouGov survey of 1,003 members in September put the Leavers at 62 per cent, and, crucially, found that 61 per cent would vote to stay in if Cameron recommended it (again excluding don't knows: the raw figures are 56 per cent "remain" and 36 per cent "leave").

And finally, thanks to Bernie Banter ‏for this:

"I always wanted to sample a great Italian tenor & remix it with '2-4-6-8 Motorway':

"Robinson Caruso."

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