July's Urban Life survey went out pre-7th July and so we did not ask you questions about the subsequent terrorist atrocities in London. However, we will cover this topic in detail in the August wave of Urban Life. In July's survey we wanted to find out your opinions on this thing called the "European Community".

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

Are Urbanites for or against Britain's EC membership? In total, 46% of you were pro-EC and 39% were anti-EC.

7% "very" pro-Europe
39% "quite" pro-Europe
30% "quite" anti-Europe
9% "very" anti-Europe
10% didn't know
5% didn't care!

The French and Dutch publics recently voted "No" to the idea of a European Constitution (a 480-page document that brings together for the first time the many treaties and agreements on which the European Union is based).

If you had to vote tomorrow for whether Britain should accept the Constitution, 54% would vote No, 17% would vote Yes and 30% would remain undecided.

ADVANTAGES

We asked all Urban Lifers: "Apart from the freedom to live, work and travel freely in EC member states, what OTHER benefits are there to you, personally, from Britain being a member of the EC?"

While 31% of you typed something in the free-text box, 35% ticked the "don't know" option and 34% ticked the "there aren't any benefits to me" option. Therefore, two-thirds of Urban Lifers can't think of any personal advantages to them from EC membership other than freedom of travel.

Amongst the third who typed in an answer, the top 3 "other" benefits of EU membership were:

1. Ability to purchase cheaper goods in Britain from Europe because of free trade agreements
2. The common currency makes it much easier to travel through Europe on holiday
3. Feeling part of a wider community that elevates Britains power and influence in the world

DISADVANTAGES

We then asked you "Apart from paying taxes to contribute towards the UK's membership of the EC, what OTHER costs are there to you, personally, from Britain being a member of the EC?"

While 18% of Urbanites typed something in the free-text box, 60% ticked the "don't know" option and 22% ticked the "there aren't any costs to me" option. Therefore, four out of five Urbanites can't think of any personal disadvantages to them from EC membership other than paying higher taxation.

Amongst those who typed in an answer, the top 3 "other" costs of EU membership were:

1. Higher food prices in Britain because of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)
2. Loss of British national identity as we are encouraged to become more "European"
3. Immigration problems caused by having open borders across the EU

THE EURO

66% of Urbanites do not think Britain should replace its own "pounds & pence" currency with the Euro, while 26% are in favour of ditching the pound. The last time we asked this question was exactly two years ago in July 2003. At this time the "No" figure was just 46%, with 35% saying they would vote yes to ditching the pound.