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Podcast: The Polls at the End of 2015

15 December 2015

In the latest in Chatham House’s series of podcasts exploring the key questions in the lead-up to the EU Referendum, I speak to regular What UK Thinks: EU contributor Professor Matthew Goodwin about the current state of public attitudes towards membership of the EU, what lessons can be learned from the Scottish referendum, and how close […]


Has the Referendum Race Really Narrowed?

9 December 2015

Followers of our Poll of Polls will be aware that it has been suggesting that the referendum race has narrowed somewhat during the course of the autumn. At the end of September it stood briefly at Remain 54% Leave 46%, for most of October it read, Remain 53% Leave 47%, but since the middle of […]


Disunited kingdom: How far apart are we on the EU?

2 December 2015

The surprise outright victory of David Cameron’s Conservative party at this year’s General Election means that we are now certain there will be a referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union (EU). At some point before the end of 2017 we will be asked whether we think the UK should remain a member of […]


What is the likely effect of different arguments on Britain’s EU referendum?

27 November 2015

What arguments will have the strongest effects on Britain’s EU referendum? Will citizens be more strongly influenced by arguments that focus on economics, or those that stress political or cultural points? To answer these questions we undertook an online experiment, testing the effects of positive and negative arguments that focus on economics, political influence or […]


Prospects for the EU Referendum: What Do The Polls Tell Us So Far?

8 November 2015

It seems that tomorrow the Prime Minister will finally put his cards on the table and provide other EU leaders with an indication of what he hopes to achieve in the renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s EU membership. How far he succeeds in achieving his objectives will, we are told, determine whether he will […]


What lessons can Britain learn from other EU referendums?

23 October 2015

When Britain goes to the polls, at some point before the end of 2017, to vote on whether to stay in or leave the European Union, it will be following in the footsteps of many other European countries. Since the early 1970s, over 50 referendums have been held across Europe on various aspects of European […]


Cameron, Corbyn and Farage: How might they affect the EU Referendum Vote?

22 October 2015

What effect might Britain’s party leaders have on the referendum on the country’s continued European Union membership? In the social sciences it is well known that leaders can have decisive effects on the outcome of elections and referendums. Amid complex debates, it has been shown that citizens often rely on their leaders to provide “informational […]





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