DUDLEY South MP Mike Wood is backing the campaign for Britain to leave the EU after conducting his own referendum in his constituency at the weekend.

Conservative MP Mr Wood, who was elected last May, handed out mock ballot papers to people in Kingswinford and Brierley Hill on Saturday asking them how they would in the forthcoming EU Referendum and an overwhelming 78 per cent of the 209 residents who voted said they wished to leave.

Just 18 per cent voted for Britain to remain in Europe and four per cent voted 'don't know'.

The official EU Referendum has now been scheduled for Thursday June 23 - and Mr Wood is among a growing army of Conservative MPs who have decided to back the leave campaign which has already won the support of some of Prime Minister David Cameron's long-time allies including London Mayor Boris Johnson and Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

Mr Wood said the new agreement negotiated by Mr Cameron after a two-day summit in Brussels was "the best deal available and the changes are certainly worth having" if British voters ultimately decide to remain in the EU but he said: "My personal view is that the new deal falls a long way short of what is needed and so the time has come for Britain to build a new role outside of the EU."

Mr Wood, who worked as an assistant and policy advisor in the European Parliament in Brussels, added: "Having spent seven years working in the European Parliament, I have some experience of how EU institutions work and of the difficulty in securing meaningful change.

"When our EU partners were so uninterested in serious reform at a time when we are considering whether Britain stays in the EU, I do not believe there is any real chance of them confronting the need for those reforms at a later date if Britain commits its future to remaining a member.

"Instead, I think it is much more likely that the EU will revert to trend, continuing towards greater integration and shifting even more powers from national governments to Brussels."

He stressed he would continue to listen to the views of constituents and he will look to hold further events to gauge public support on the issue but he added: "I want to be open about my intention to vote for Britain to leave."

Meanwhile - Dudley North Labour MP Ian Austin has confessed he will be backing the Prime Minister's drive for Britain to remain in Europe.

Mr Austin, who was part of the Treasury team that kept Britain out of the single currency, told the News this afternoon: "I can see both sides of this debate and it is a difficult decision, but I am concerned about the impact leaving could have on the economy, trade and jobs, particularly in an area like ours where manufacturing and exports are so important.

"We face big challenges on international issues like migration, terrorism, cross-border crime and climate change which we need to work with our neighbours to tackle.

"Finally, with Putin increasingly belligerent and with increased instability in Ukraine and the Middle East, I think it makes sense to be part of a group of nations committed to peace, security and democracy. "That’s why, in the end, I have decided to vote to stay in.”