Only a quarter of voters (24%) feel ‘well’ or ‘very well’ informed about the upcoming EU referendum, a figure that has slightly increased from 16% since February, according to new research.
The survey, conducted by the Electoral Reform Society, also found 22% of people still haven’t had any contact at all about the vote. Only 2% of those polled have had a campaign visit to their home, and just 6% have been approached in the street.
Darren Hughes, deputy chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: ‘The fact that under a quarter of the public feel well informed about this referendum – despite months of campaigning - is deeply worrying news. Over one in five people still haven’t had any contact at all about the referendum: the real debate just isn’t getting through.
‘Voters have been completely left in the dark on what the real issues at stake are in this referendum – instead they’ve had a debate dominated by personality politics, party spats, and name-calling. The tone of the debate has been overwhelmingly negative, turning voters off from the conversation. The public want to hear about the issues and policies that affect them, but instead have been subjected to a Westminster parlour game.’
The Electoral Reform Society has launched a new online toolkit, Better Referendum, to help inform voters about the issues surrounding the referendum. It is also calling for a grassroots debate on the ‘politics, rather than the personalities’.
