Tag: EU
The real reasons referendums have become so common – and so scary
As 23 June nears there has been increasing frustration around the quality of the debate, and the fact that such a complex constitutional issue is being decided by a binary referendum. Harry Farmer considers why referendums are becoming increasingly popular in Western democracies, and why anxieties around votes on single issues reflect deeper worries about […]
A short handbook of Brexit fallacies: Putting facts in context
The Brexit debate is full of facts, figures, and fallacies. But Albert Weale writes that facts are not enough, and that to make a responsible voting choice, facts need to be fitted into a bigger picture. He looks at 18 different fallacies to see where the logic breaks down in statements that often seem ‘right’ at first glance. […]
How democratic is the UK’s participation in the European Union?
As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Stuart Brown examines the extent to which the UK’s participation in European and international institutions affects the quality of UK democracy. Overall, while some positive reforms have taken place at the European level since 2012, the UK’s uncertain relationship with the European Union and a general lack of […]
What did ITV’s EU referendum debate say about the role of women in the campaign?
The impact of EU membership on women has not played a major part in the UK’s referendum campaign. Following a TV debate on 9 June that featured five female politicians, as well as Boris Johnson, Roberta Guerrina assesses how the EU has affected factors such as women’s employment rights and how these issues could be […]
Too many facts and not enough theories: the rhetoric of the referendum campaign
The campaign over the UK’s referendum on our continued membership of the European Union is entering its final stretch, with numerous facts, figures, and assertions being thrown around with wilful abandon. Here, Alan Finlayson argues that both campaigns in are build on thin theories which utterly fail to understand each other. Similar PostsA short handbook […]
Laws born out of trauma: in defence of the EU’s conception of human rights
With both the EU and human rights demonised in public discourse, Catherine Dupré sets out to redeem the concepts from their critics. She argues that the EU’s conception of human rights, as codified in its Charter of Fundamental Rights, defines a set of absolute rights borne out of wartime trauma and transcending the limitations of a conception of […]
Swamped by facts, voters are still going into the EU referendum with an information deficit
The best feature of referendums can be the ability to expand public knowledge and bring new groups or issues into the public sphere. But Andrew Glencross writes there is a very real danger that the current debate is not enhancing citizens’ understanding of the costs and constraints of EU membership. He argues if this referendum is to have […]
‘Super Thursday’ tells us a lot about voter participation in the UK
Thursday 5 May saw a host of elections happening around the UK, on an unprecedented scale outside of a General Election. Democratic Dashboard’s Carl Cullinane looks at what the election campaign tells us about the state of voter participation in the UK. Similar PostsRecovery in the polls: Predicting the London Mayor election resultImprovements in turnout […]
A vote to leave the EU may have a detrimental impact on Parliament
What will life be like in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords if the UK leaves the EU? And if it is a vote to remain? Will Parliament have more or less influence on the government’s dealings with its European partners post-23 June? Sara Hobolt and Sara Hagemann report on the expert evidence gathered […]
Can we really not predict who will vote for Brexit, and where?
In a recent Guardian article, Simon Jenkins suggested that voter decisions regarding the EU referendum will be made on the basis of gut instinct alone, and that personal characteristics and previous party support provide no guide. Using a new modelling strategy applied to a large body of YouGov opinion poll data, Ron Johnston, Kelvyn Jones and David Manley address Jenkins’ claim, and find it wanting. The […]
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