VOTERS feel slightly less informed about the European Union referendum than they did before receiving the £9.3 million taxpayer-funded Government leaflet, a poll has shown.
The BMG Research poll for the Electoral Reform Society found the percentage of people who said they had been contacted about the EU referendum by leaflet rose from just 25 per cent in March to 63 per cent in the weeks following the publication of the controversial document
But the percentage of people who said they felt either well informed or very well informed fell from 23 per cent at the end of March to 21 per cent by the end of April.
The survey of more than 1,500 British adults was carried out between April 21 and 26, after the official UK Government leaflets starting landing on doormats across the country.
The percentage of people who said they felt poorly or very poorly informed fell from 39 per cent to 38 per cent between the end of March and the end of April with some 42 per cent saying they had an "about average" level of information; up from 38 per cent.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "Leaflets are all well and good but, clearly, they are not enough to create the kind of genuinely informed and engaging EU debate the public deserves as this poll demonstrates. We need a dynamic campaign rather than just one-sided mail-drops; voters want to be able to compare information from both sides so that they know the full story.”
She argued that the findings showed the voters' need for an informed debate was not being met by the campaigns at present and the Government's huge leaflet drop appeared to have had little effect.
“The lack of a well-informed conversation isn't because people don't care; 69 per cent of people say they are interested or very interested in the referendum. So there is huge scope for creating a lively national conversation.”
She added: "As well as hearing the clear facts and arguments from both sides, we want to see a vibrant referendum debate; not just one-sided government leaflets but conversations in communities, colleges and workplaces across the UK about this crucial issue. That's what got people out to vote in the Scottish independence referendum and that's what we need across the UK between now and June 23."
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