Before the end of 2017, perhaps as early as June of this year, voters in Britain will decide whether to remain part of the European Union. Whilst the majority of commentary so far has focused on the economic implications of Brexit, leaving the European Union would also have consequences for many other aspects of British life.
Brexit could hasten the disintegration of the UK, especially if a majority of Scots voted to stay in. In such a scenario, the SNP would have a strong mandate to demand a second referendum, and judging by the recent surge in support for the nationalist party, it is a vote they could well win. A decision to leave could also further weaken a Europe divided by the refugee crisis and stagnation in the Eurozone. At last month's Davos summit French Prime Minister Manuel warned that with a Brexit "Europe could lose its historical footing and the project could die quickly. Things could fall apart within months." With so much at stake, is the British public sufficiently informed to make the most important political decision for a generation?
Research suggests that the answer is no. The Electoral Commission recently found that the “majority of participants…stated that their personal understanding of how the EU worked was low” and felt “under-informed about the EU as an institution, as well as about the arguments for and against the UK remaining a member”. The press and broadcast news are the key information sources for the public in this area. However, research finds that reporting tends to be limited, partisan and negative. This is especially so in the press. As Roy Greenslade noted recently, across most of the press an anti-EU message is "hammered home relentlessly with news stories, leading articles, commentaries and cartoons". This, he suggests, "in a drip-drip-drip process over months, if not years" means that "newspapers have an impact on readers who never think about, let alone question, the propaganda they consume."
