The EU is clearly an unpopular institution that comes under sustained attacks from the media, politicians and the general populace. Forms of attacks include variations on the themes of bureaucracy, accountability and the erosion of national sovereignty. But this week we might have seen the emergence of a new form of attack — the suggestion of a realistic alternative.

In a YouGov poll commissioned by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) this week, respondents were asked whether they would prefer Britain to be in the EU or EFTA. The results for Europhiles are worrying, with 36 per cent support for the EU compared with 39 per cent for EFTA (admittedly after a seemingly-biased phrasing of the question).

EFTA is a purely economic union which allows for free trade within European nations without the common foreign, agricultural or fisheries policies that are so bemoaned by the press. This fits with the notion that we should maintain national sovereignty which chimes so well with the British public. The poll received relatively little press attention so the campaign may not take off but there is the potential for a political opportunist to seize on this data and make EFTA an alternative to the EU.

When I spoke to the UKIP press office this afternoon, they were keen on the idea. While they said they did not directly endorse EFTA, as they are committed to independence, they said that if it was a choice between the two they would put their full backing behind EFTA, as it stripped Europe of its political content. This, in a nutshell, is where the appeal lies.

There are massive problems. There is the little issue of the current state of EFTA. Since being set up in 1960 (with the UK as a key member), the force of the movement has gradually eroded. Current members include the political giants of Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland (who are trying to leave). Then there is the legal issue of leaving the EU and the bureaucracy (yes, bureaucracy) that that would entail, if possible at all. It is also clear that Britain’s role in the Europe gives it a political clout that it would not have had otherwise.

For these reasons, don’t expect David Cameron to endorse opting out of the EU and joining EFTA. But it has the potential to be a policy which a fringe party could endorse and thus bring into the mainstream discourse.