It’s good to talk. Doing referendums differently after the EU vote

The Electoral Reform Society in the United Kingdom published on the 1 September 2016 a report ‘It’s Good to Talk: Doing Referendums Differently After the EU Vote’, into the conduct of the UK referendum on the EU held on the 23 June 2016.

This report said that without a shadow of a doubt the EU referendum debate was dire - and what the country can do about it.

There were glaring democratic deficiencies in the run-up to the vote, with previously unreleased polling showing that far too many people felt they were ill-informed about the issues; and that the ‘big beast’ personalities did not appear to engage or convince voters.

The polling also shows that voters viewed both sides as increasingly negative as the campaign wore on. Meanwhile, the top-down, personality-based nature of the debate failed to address major policies and subjects, leaving the public in the dark.

The ERS made a number of recommendations to improve the conduct of future referendums. They were:

Laying the groundwork
+ Mandatory pre-legislative scrutiny for any Bill on a referendum, lasting at least three months, with citizens’ involvement
+ A minimum six-month regulated campaigning period to ensure time for a proper public discussion
+ A definitive ‘rulebook’ to be published, setting out technical aspects of the vote, as soon as possible after the passing of any referendum Bill

Better information
+ A ‘minimum data set’ or impartial information guide to be published at the start of the regulated campaigning period
+ An official body should be given the task of intervening when misleading claims are made by the campaigns, as in New Zealand
+ Citizenship education to be extended in schools alongside UK-wide extension of votes at 16

More deliberation
+ The government should fund a resource for stimulating deliberative discussion/debate about referendum
+ An official body should be tasked with providing a toolkit for members of the public to host own debates/deliberative events on the referendum
+ Ofcom should conduct a review into an appropriate role for broadcasters to play in referendums, with aim of making coverage/formats more deliberative rather than combative/binary

BBC News, 01.09.16: 'Glaring deficiencies' in EU debate, Electoral Reform Society says http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37238641

Blog: ERS, 01.09.16: Doing referendums differently http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/blog/doing-referendums-differently

The Guardian, 01.09.16: Electoral reform campaigners slam ‘dire’ EU referendum debate http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/01/electoral-reform-campaigners-slam-dire-eu-referendum-debate

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Background information: Referendum campaign literature http://www.europeansources.info/record/referendum-campaign-literature/

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 19.08.16: The UK’s referendum and post-fact politics: How can campaigners be held accountable for their claims? http://bit.ly/2au1OAx

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