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| EU referendum: Watchdog urges changes to question | EU referendum: Watchdog urges changes to question |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The elections watchdog has recommended a change to the question to be put to voters in a future EU referendum. | The elections watchdog has recommended a change to the question to be put to voters in a future EU referendum. |
| The Electoral Commission said the existing wording proposed by the government - "should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?" - could be perceived as biased. | The Electoral Commission said the existing wording proposed by the government - "should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?" - could be perceived as biased. |
| It has proposed adding the words "or leave the European Union?" | It has proposed adding the words "or leave the European Union?" |
| The final decision will be made by Parliament, with the vote due to take place before the end of 2017. | The final decision will be made by Parliament, with the vote due to take place before the end of 2017. |
| If the changes were made the options for voters in the referendum would be "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union" rather than the Yes/No options in the existing wording. | If the changes were made the options for voters in the referendum would be "Remain a member of the European Union" or "Leave the European Union" rather than the Yes/No options in the existing wording. |
| 'Legitimacy' | |
| The watchdog said it was recommending the rethink after consulting members of the public, campaigners and academics. | |
| While in its current form, the question was "easy for people to understand and answer", the watchdog said that by only setting out the "remain" option and the "yes" response, it could "encourage voters to consider one response more favourably than the other" - that option being the status quo. | |
| This, it warned, could potentially raise issues about the legitimacy of the eventual result, particularly in the eyes of those campaigning to leave the EU. | |
| The amended question, it argued, "would not cause comparable concerns about neutrality, whilst also being easily understood". | |
| "Any referendum question must be as clear as possible so that voters understand the important choice they are being asked to make," said its chair Jenny Watson. | |
| "We have tested the proposed question with voters and received views from potential campaigners, academics and plain language experts." | |
| 'Whilst voters understood the question in the Bill some campaigners and members of the public feel the wording is not balanced and there was a perception of bias. | |
| "The alternative question we have recommended addresses this. It is now for Parliament to discuss our advice and decide which question wording should be used." |