Over a quarter of Conservative MPs once wanted Britain to leave the EU.

One of the things I've been led to believe in recent years is that the emergence of new, relatively young Tory MPs like Philip Hollobone, Phillip Davies and Douglas Carswell who all support Britain's withdrawal from the EU is a good sign that finally some MPs advocate leaving the EU. Well, in a way it is I suppose but I was sent a rather interesting archived news report today that strongly suggests the number of Tory MPs who want to leave the EU is far lower now than it was a decade ago.

In a piece from The Independent in 1999 headlined "Thatcher says Britain should leave the EU", there is talk of a poll done by Hull University. The poll, which I haven't been able to find, apparently results in 26% of Tory MPs advocating withdrawal from the European Union.

Is this further evidence yet that the Eurosceptic backbone of the Conservatives has long departed? While many cite the likes of Dan Hannan and Douglas Carswell as evidence of a new breed of anti-EU Tory, perhaps it is the case that actually the anti-EU voice inside the Conservatives' Parliamentary Party is in severe decline, not growing as some like to portray?