Set up new watchdog to call out false claims in referendum campaigns, report recommends

The Government should designate an official public body as a watchdog to intervene when factually incorrect political claims are made in future referendums, it has been recommended.

A study by the Electoral Reform Society released on Thursday morning lamented the “glaring democratic deficiencies” during the European Union referendum caused in part by the “dire” standard of debate.

The researchers point to repeated reports suggesting voters felt ill-informed and starved of facts about what they were voting on. They blame a specific media focus on the opinions of “big beast” politicians rather than hard evidence – and misleading claims made by the campaigns.

The Vote Leave campaign notoriously repeatedly claimed that £350m could be spent on the NHS if Britain left the European Union. The false claim was derided as misleading by UK Statistics Authority but the publicity of the initial statement outshone that of any correction.

Among a number of recommendations, the report recommends that the UK learn from New Zealand, which it says successfully intervened to quash false claims during referendum campaigns.

“An official body – either the Electoral Commission or an appropriate alternative – should be empowered to intervene when overtly misleading information is disseminated by the official campaigns,” they said.

“Misleading claims by the official campaigns in the EU referendum were widely seen as disrupting people’s ability to make informed and deliberate choices.

“Other countries including New Zealand have successfully regulated campaign claims – the UK should follow suit.”

Other recommendations include increased citizenship education in schools to help people understand and criticise claims made by politicians, as well as votes at 16 to improve political engagement.

They also add that the official regulated campaign period for all future referendums be a minimum of six months, and that the Electoral Commission should publish basic important data “relevant to the vote” on a website to keep claims accurate.

Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said referendums could be valuable democratic tool but that they had to be properly regulated.

“This report shows without a shadow of a doubt just how dire the EU referendum debate really was. There were glaring democratic deficiencies in the run-up to the vote, with the public feeling totally ill-informed,” she said.

“Both sides were viewed as highly negative by voters, while the top-down, personality-based nature of the debate failed to address major policies and issues, leaving the public in the dark.

“It offered a stark contrast to the vibrant, well-informed, grassroots conversation of the Scottish independence vote ­– a referendum that left a lasting legacy of on-going public participation in politics and public life.

“From a campaign period that was too short to foster a decent debate, to the fact that misleading claims could be made with total impunity, there are so many lessons to be learned – and this report lays out both the facts and the way forward.

“Now that the dust is starting to settle after the EU referendum, we need a complete rethink about the role of referendums in the UK. They are becoming more common, but the piecemeal nature of the how, when and why they’re done means we could simply end up jumping from referendum to referendum at the whim of politicians.

“It’s time for a root and branch review of referendums, learning the lessons of the EU campaign to make sure the mistakes that were made in terms of regulation, tone and conduct are never repeated. Let’s make sure that future referendums guarantee the lively and well-informed discussion that voters deserve.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The British people spoke decisively at the referendum, with one of the highest turnouts of any vote seen in a UK-wide poll in a generation. They voted to leave the European Union – and this Government will deliver on the people’s verdict.”