Iain Duncan Smith tells E&S readers: You're on the button over the EU referendum

The Work and Pensions Secretary, one of the Brexit campaign's biggest hitters, said: "What a brilliant bunch of readers the Express & Star has. The readership has it on the button and they get my support. Well done to them."

The former Conservative leader was responding to our EU referendum survey that found eight in ten of the 8,000 respondents said they intended to vote in favour of Britain leaving the EU.

The biggest issue for 63 per cent of the readers was immigration.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "For people who work here, one of the big problems is with uncontrolled migration from the European Union nations.

"Instead of saying who we need to come here to help companies and fill shortages, just about anyone can come and what that means is that skilled people are driven out of work because they often cannot compete with the people who come here, bed hop, work, and shove off.

"While the man who has mortgage to pay and mouths to feed can't.

"Uncontrolled migration puts stress and pressure on people and the only way we can stop that is by leaving the European Union." Our survey found that 82 per cent of people said British membership of the EU had not benefited the Black Country or Staffordshire. And 86 per cent said the EU interferes too much with British affairs.

Mr Duncan Smith added: "Every week we send about £350 million of taxpayers' and business's money across the EU. That is the equivalent of building a hospital every week in the United Kingdom. We are not going to do that , but you have to ask yourself why are we doing that?

"We only get a small proportion back and not necessary for what we want, it is often doing something else. I want to hold on to that money and say to the British people 'we don't have to tax you so much' or to small businesses we will reduce some of the burden on you, or we can spend more money on the health service – that is what people want.

"I think the message is very clear: if you leave the EU, get the balance right, trade and co-operate with them, you get the best of both worlds and you remain an independent nation state."

And our survey found 80 per cent believed that trade conditions would actually improve by leaving the EU. This comes despite repeated warnings by pro-EU MPs, including the Prime Minister, that leaving would put jobs and businesses at risk.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "I think they are wrong. The reality is that it is all about access to the market place. We run a trade deficit with Europe. They are selling more to us than we do to them. They are not about to turn around and say they don't want to trade with us. Imagine now BMWs, no Mercedes, no machine tools, of course they are going to carry on trading. We can have access to the market because they want access to our market."

Also commenting on the Express & Star's survey was UKIP MEP and Dudley councillor Bill Etheridge.

He said: "I very much welcome the findings of the Express & Star poll which add further weight to the hefty case for Brexit. The message from Express & Star readers is clear – we want out of the EU and we want our sovereignty and independence back.

"These are exciting times in British politics and I urge people to vote in the EU referendum and for Britain to leave the EU."