The EU Referendum Campaigns: How The Dirty Tactics Have Failed To Clear The Water

On 23rd June, Britain will make a choice which is most likely to be the greatest democratic decision

that a majority of the electorate will ever face. The date will either be remembered as Britain’s

Independence Day (courtesy of Nigel Farage) or the day that Britain chose to remain united in the

European bloc which has gifted our nation with security on multiple platforms.

The referendum campaigns had the potential to hold highly stimulating, intellectual and immersive

debates and yet the campaign trail has simply left skid marks of disappointment and smears. The

certainty of a referendum had been known for a long time, ever since the Tories stepped into

Number 10, unleashed from their reigns, the referendum was inevitable and both sides of the coin had the time to construct their respective arguments.

And yet, despite this time to prepare and the given enthusiasm and passion surrounding this

influential topic, the campaign as a whole has been plagued by contradicting ‘facts’ and negative

campaigning to the extreme.

Headlines have either been various statistics which seemed to be plucked from the air or personal

attacks from one campaign to another. The Leave campaign has now been branded as issuing a

xenophobic attack in a recent video and the Remain campaign continue to be disunited and claims of

them trying to pull the rabbit out of the hat with endorsements from Obama who was criticised for intervening too much in British affairs.

It is therefore upsetting that this campaign has spiralled out of control, consequently spiralling out of

interest from the disenfranchised voters. One only needs to compare the lacklustre failure of this

campaign with the engaging and energetic campaigns during the Scottish Referendum. With the

voting age lowered to 16 and the street campaigning mobilising a range of politicians and figures;

the campaign had an aura of freshness, this was illustrated with the record breaking turnout of

84.5%.

It seems as though the EU Referendum has therefore ‘missed a trick’ in failing to capitalise on an

opportunity to demonstrate the passion and honesty in politics which so many people have lost faith in.

The television ‘debates’ are on the horizon which seems to be the last ditch attempt to reignite the

campaigns, however last ditch is the way to describe these. Rather than a series of televised debates

featuring representatives from all campaigns; these will simply be an individual holding a Q&A with

the audience rather than being pitted against one another. With these broadcasts being so late in

the campaign timeline, and with the campaigning starting with such hyperbolic statements about

the consequences of the referendum, these broadcasts threaten to be a mere continuation of the dangerous rhetoric which has engulfed the referendum.

With Corbyn being criticised for failing to put his full weight behind the Remain campaign; Cameron

struggling to keep his party unified in any way; Farage attempting to keep his political career alive

and Boris playing his card for leadership, the campaign has turned into individual battles and personalities and consequently, has failed to captivate the electorate.

Maybe it is the staggering success of House of Cards, but people do now and again enjoy the ‘dirty

politics’ tactics and reading about various individual battles and scandals. Yet there is a time for this

political showbiz and a time for rational arguments and unfortunately, the EU campaigns have failed to provide a balance between the two,

This tendency in the campaigns thus far has meant that people have either lost interest or have

remained unaware of the actual realistic facts and consequences, or even what the European Union

really is.

This lack of involvement on the national campaigns could result in three pathways for this critical

referendum. Either the turnout will be embarrassingly low and the result won’t reflect the peoples

of Britain; the turnout will be relatively high yet votes will be cast misinformed or, the turnout will be

a positive figure and the discussion around the local community and personal interaction will add vigour and clarity. One can only hope that it is the latter.

There is still time for the national campaigns to save some integrity however in the meantime, it is

up to the public to inspire discussion and engage in debate amongst ourselves and raise above the

toxic discourse used by the national campaigns.

Jack O’Neill, Student at Royal Holloway, University of London Aged 18