Britain would vote to leave the European Union if a referendum were held today, a poll for The Times suggests.

Forty per cent of voters would leave, 37 per cent would stay and 23 per cent do not know how they would vote, according to the Populus survey.

That translates into a 53-47 vote in favour of leaving after taking into account people's likelihood to vote and stripping the "don't knows" from the figures.

Earlier this week UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the EU and then give people the "simple choice" between staying in under those new terms, or leaving the EU.

If his Conservative Party wins again in an election due in 2015, Cameron said, the new arrangement would be put to voters in an in-or-out referendum by the end of 2017.

The news was welcomed by eurosceptics who have long campaigned for a vote.

Germany and France however were quick to warn Cameron that Britain cannot pick and choose EU membership terms.

The response from most European capitals, including Austria and Denmark, was that we don't want Britain to leave, but when you join a club, you have to abide by the rules.

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