The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
One in six Britons ‘informed’ on EU referendum options
Brexit: Public confusion exposed by recent poll
Brexit is the talk of Westminster, but just one in six Britons feel well informed about the EU referendum, according to a new poll.
The finding has sparked fears that few voters will bother to turn up to cast their ballots on June 23.
The survey, commissioned by the Electoral Reform Society, found that women and young voters feel less informed than older and male voters, and comes after criticism that men are dominating the referendum debate.
The campaign said the survey should be a “wake-up call” to politicians to shake-up the discussion about the referendum and talk about the real issues.
The poll of 1,517 Britons found that just 12% feel well informed, while a further 4% feel very well informed about the June vote.
While nearly half (46%) feel poorly or very poorly informed about it.
This falls to just over a third (38%) among those who say they will definitely vote in the referendum, and rises to nearly two thirds (61%) among those who say they probably will not vote – suggesting a link between how much people feel they know about the debate and how likely they are to vote.
Older voters are far more likely to feel confident about the issues than their younger counterparts. A fifth (21%) of 55 to 64-year-olds feel well informed about the referendum compared to just 10% of 18 to 24-year-olds.
Men are also twice as likely to feel well informed than women, with 21% of men saying this compared to 10% of women.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “These figures are a wake-up call to politicians, parties, public bodies and everyone involved in the referendum to do all they can to boost public knowledge and engagement in this crucial vote”.