Obama's views on EU membership not important to most Britons, ITV News poll suggests

Barack Obama's views on our EU membership are not important to a majority of Britons, an ITV News poll conducted by ComRes suggests.

Asked how important the US President's opinions are on the issue of EU membership, 60% of respondents said they were not important to them personally, while 30% said they were important.

Meanwhile, 51% of people asked said President Obama should not say publicly whether he thinks it would be best for Britain to remain in the EU, while 36% said he should make his opinion public.

Given the choice of eight people and groups and asked how important their opinion on the EU vote was, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was considered the most important, followed by the Queen, the poll suggested.

The results of the ITV News/ComRes poll were gathered from interviews with 2,015 British adults, who were asked two questions.

Question 1: How important to you personally are the opinions of each of the following on the issue of Britain’s membership of the EU?

The poll suggested Mark Carney's views are the most important. Credit: PA

  • Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney: 60% said important, 29% said not important

  • The Queen: 49% important, 42% not important

  • The International Monetary Fund: 48% important, 37% not important

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel: 34%important, 55% not important

  • US President Barack Obama: 30% important, 60% not important

  • French President Francois Hollande: 28% important, 60% not important

  • UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon: 26% important, 60% not important

  • The Pope: 13% important, 77% not important

Three in five respondents said Mr Obama’s opinions on the issue of Britain’s membership of the EU are either not very or not at all important to them personally.

The poll suggests men are more likely than women to say the President's opinions on our EU membership are not personally important to them (65% vs 55%).

Younger adults are more likely to cite Mr Obama’s opinions are personally important to them compared to older adults, the poll suggests; around half (47%) of adults aged 18 to 24 say it is important compared to just a quarter of adults aged 65 and over.

The Queen was considered the second most important person in the poll. Credit: PA

Question 2: As you may know, US President Obama is visiting the UK this week. Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

  • President Obama should say publicly whether he thinks it would be best for Britain to remain in the EU or leave the EU - 36%

  • President Obama should not say publicly whether he thinks it would be best for Britain to remain in the EU or leave the EU - 51%

  • Don't know - 12%

The poll suggests younger adults seem more keen than older adults for Mr Obama to publicly comment on the issue; three in five adults aged 18 to 24 (58%) said he should say publicly whether he thinks it would be best for the UK to remain or leave the EU, compared to just a quarter of adults aged 65 and over (24%).