DOING DEMOCRACY BETTER: HOW CAN INFORMATION AND DISCOURSE IN ELECTION AND REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS IN THE UK BE IMPROVED? Alan Renwick and Michela Palese The Constitution Unit University College London March 2019 ISBN: 978-1-903903-85-8 Published by: The Constitution Unit School of Public Policy University College London 29-31 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9QU Tel: 020 7679 4977 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit ©The Constitution Unit, UCL 2019 This report is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. First Published March 2019 Front cover image of Plato and Aristotle, or Philosophy. Marble panel from the North side, lower basement of the bell tower of Florence, Italy. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Photograph by Jastrow. Image used under public domain. Contents List of Tables and Figures iii Acknowledgements vi Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. vii Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Plan of the Report 1 Part 1: Starting Points .......................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1. The Challenge: Ensuring Quality Democracy ..................................................................... 5 Contemporary Concerns 5 Democratic Aspirations 8 What Are We Aiming for? 9 Potential Solutions 11 How We Assess Effectiveness 14 Part 2: Confronting Misinformation ................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2. Banning Misinformation ...................................................................................................... 19 Constraints on Misinformation in the UK 20 South Australia 22 New Zealand 30 Lessons for the UK 38 Chapter 3. Fact-Checking ........................................................................................................................ 41 Political Fact-Checking 41 The Growth of Fact-Checking 42 Innovative Uses of Fact-Checking 44 Concluding Remarks 46 Chapter 4. Fostering Transparency ........................................................................................................ 48 Transparency: The State of Debate 48 Proposed Solutions 51 Concluding Remarks 55 Conclusion to Part 2 ................................................................................................................................. 57 Part 3: Promoting Quality Information ............................................................................. 59 Chapter 5. Basic Information in Elections and Referendums............................................................ 61 Existing Practice in the UK 61 Practice around the World 64 Lessons for the UK 67 Chapter 6. Voting Advice Applications ................................................................................................. 69 Comparative Overview 70 Voting Advice Applications in the UK 75 Alternative Models of Delivery 83 i Germany’s Wahl-O-Mat 84 Lessons for the UK 95 Chapter 7. Party Policy Analysis ............................................................................................................. 98 Policy Analysis in the UK 99 Policy Analysis Overseas 104 Policy Analysis in the Netherlands 110 Lessons for the UK 123 Chapter 8. Public Information in Referendums ................................................................................. 125 Existing Practice in the UK 126 Practice around the World 127 Ireland’s Referendum Commissions 128 Public Information for Referendums in New Zealand 144 Lessons for the UK 160 Conclusion to Part 3 ............................................................................................................................... 164 Part 4: Promoting Quality Discussion ............................................................................. 165 Chapter 9. Citizen Deliberation: Setting the Agenda ......................................................................... 169 Existing Practice in the UK 170 Canada: Citizens’ Assemblies in British Columbia and Ontario 172 Ireland: Constitutional Convention and Citizens’ Assembly 186 Lessons for the UK 199 Chapter 10. Citizen Deliberation: Framing the Debate .................................................................... 203 Existing Practice in the UK 204 Citizens’ Initiative Reviews in Oregon 204 Lessons for the UK 225 Conclusion to Part 4 ............................................................................................................................... 228 Part 5: Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 229 Chapter 11. A Blueprint for Change .................................................................................................... 231 Findings from Preceding Chapters 231 A Model for the UK 235 Getting There 241 Shaping the Wider Context 242 Concluding Remarks 244 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 245 List of Laws Cited 283 ii List of Tables and Figures Table 2.1. Complaints and actions relating to inaccurate or misleading advertising in South Australia since 1997 ....................................................................................................................... 23 Table 2.2. Complaints relating to electoral advertising decided by the New Zealand ASA, 2017 32 Figure 5.1. California Voter Information Guide 2018: Sample page ................................................ 65 Figure 5.2. Candidate Statements in New Zealand: Waitākere Ranges Local Board By-Election, 24 May 2018 .................................................................................................................................... 66 Figure 6.1. Example of additional information on parties’ positions (StemWijzer, Netherlands, 2018) ................................................................................................................................................. 72 Figure 6.2. Example of a five-point scale statement (Election Compass, UK, 2017) .................... 73 Figure 6.3. Examples of visual presentation of results ........................................................................ 74 Table 6.1. Some of the most popular VAAs in the UK ...................................................................... 76 Figure 6.4. Example of a Wahl-O-Mat statement ................................................................................ 85 Figure 6.5. Example of a party's explanation ........................................................................................ 86 Figure 6.6. Dorothee Bär, Deputy General Secretary of the CSU, plays the Wahl-O-Mat at the inaugural press conference for the 2013 Wahl-O-Mat ............................................................. 87 Table 6.2. Tone of statements in the media .......................................................................................... 90 Table 6.3. Wahl-O-Mat usage statistics for Bundestag elections ....................................................... 92 Table 6.4. Demographics of Wahl-O-Mat users .................................................................................. 93 Table 6.5. Users’ perceptions of the Wahl-O-Mat ............................................................................... 94 Table 6.6. Total media coverage ............................................................................................................. 94 Table 7.1. Summary data on policy analysis facilities......................................................................... 108 Table 7.2. Timeline of the CPB’s assessments, 2012–17 .................................................................. 111 Table 7.3. The CPB’s reports, 1986–2017 ........................................................................................... 113 Table 7.4. Tone of statements in the media directly relating to the CPB ....................................... 117 Table 7.5: Tone of statements in the media indirectly relating to the CPB ................................... 117 Table 7.6: Public opinion on the CPB ................................................................................................. 119 iii Table 7.7. Newspaper articles mentioning the election and the CPB report during the Dutch election campaigns, 2002–17 ...................................................................................................... 120 Table 8.1. Activities of Referendum Commissions, 1995–2018 ...................................................... 133 Figure 8.1. The presence of Irish Referendum Commissions in newspaper coverage of referendums, 1998–2018 ............................................................................................................. 142 Figure 8.2. Voters’ perceived understanding in Irish referendums, 2011–13 ................................ 143 Table 8.2. Public Information Campaigns in Referendums in New Zealand ................................ 146 Table 8.3. Results of